My Own Worst Enemy
Folc4evernaday
Chapter 13
***
A tall man in a white uniform wheeled Emmet Vale down the narrow hallways. He smiled to the nurse at the front desk and continued toward the staff elevator. “We appreciate your cooperation, Mr. Vale.”
He leaned over to press the call button and waited patiently for the elevator car to arrive. Another patient wheeled past the corridor and the man stiffened, tightening his grasp on Emmet Vale’s wheelchair hand bars. He breathed a sigh of relief when the patient turned the other direction.
The elevator car arrived and he wheeled Emmet Vale inside, breathing a sigh of relief when the doors closed behind him. He pulled out his cellular phone and pressed the speed dial. “Mr. Luthor? We’re ready when you are.”
***
“You hear that?” the doctor smiled at Lois as she rolled the wand over her abdomen covered in blue goo.
The room had filled with a loud, rapid thumping and Lois smiled, looking back at Clark. “That’s our boy.”
Clark leaned over, pressing his lips to hers and rested his forehead against hers, “I love you ,” He whispered, fingering her hair strands as he spoke.
“Baby looks good. You’re right on target for growth.” the doctor continued, looking up at the monitor as she took a few more measurements on the screen. “Just a few more weeks and you’re home free. Then the real work begins.”
***
Lex Luthor smiled as he listened to to Asabi on the other end of the phone. He turned to Rollie Vale who was eying him warily. “It seems your brother has gone missing from Shady Brook, Mr. Vale.”
Rollie glared at him angrily, “What do you want, Luthor?”
“Something you and your brother stole from me…” Lex tapped his fingers on the desk in front of him. “The meteorite. Where is it?”
“I don’t have it.” Vale sneered. “Haven’t had it in months.”
“That’s too bad.” Luthor turned his attention back to the phone, “Asabi, it seems Mr. Vale’s attachment to his brother was exaggerated. You know what we do to traitors.”
“No, no, no!” Rollie Vale shouted adamantly. “Wait, please!” He pleaded with him. “I don’t have the original sample but I know where Intergang kept their collection.”
“Collection?” Lex mused.
“They made about fifteen different kinds by experimenting on it with everything you could imagine, chemical, heat, cold… Each one gave a different result.” Rollie Vale explained frantically as he pleaded with Luthor. “Please haven’t you done enough to my brother?”
“It seems I haven’t done enough if he thinks he can steal from me.” Lex hissed angrily.
“It wasn’t him.” Rollie pleaded. “Please, I can get you what you want. I can get you the meteorite and everything Intergang had on Superman.”
“Oh?” Lex turned to his phone, “Just a moment, Asabi.”
***
“A machine?” Clark wrinkled his forehead, unsure if he’d heard Sam correctly.
“A cyborg.” Sam corrected, pulling up the notes he’d made on the screen for Clark to see. “Metallo.”
Clark looked around the small laboratory Dr. Klein had arranged for Sam to use within STAR Labs. It wasn’t much but it had the basics that Sam needed to live off of. Somewhere to sleep and groom himself and a stocked kitchen that Dr. Klein kept stocked. With his security clearance Dr. Klein was able to hide Sam within plain sight and keep the organization from finding him. Unfortunately this meant keeping Lois in the dark about where her father was. Though she said she understood why it still made him uneasy not being able to talk to Lois about what was going on with her father.
He looked to the silver and white plug that was hooked up to Corbin’s chest cavity. “He’s plugged into a wall.” Clark pointed out. Sam had entered a code after hooking Corbin up to his computer and he’d gone still. Sam assured him Corbin was all right but he wasn’t sure what to believe anymore.
“He was hooked up to a machine when I found him. The organization wanted me to find a way to save him. Said it was military research on how to save soldiers that had been wounded on the battlefield.” Sam said bitterly as he ran the diagnostics program on Corbin. His face fell and Sam shook his head.
“What is it?” Clark asked, concerned.
“His power source and memory’s been wiped. I’m going to have to reprogram him.” Sam sighed.
“He didn’t leave me much of a choice,” Clark said flatly, crossing his arms over his chest.
“No, I wouldn’t imagine he would.” Sam’s expression grew grim. “Thankfully I made a backup of his programming. It won’t take as long to reprogram, but the hardware repair may take awhile.”
“Just keep me posted,” Clark instructed, turning to the exit.
***
Present Day…“Bye, sweetie.” Lois waved goodbye to Jon before heading to the elevator. Despite being late and Clark requesting she work from home today there was still a mystery on their hands. If there was a double of Clark, then there was possibly a double of Superman which meant trouble for Metropolis.
Five Years.
It was a long time that he had been in custody of Bureau 39. They already knew the organization had gotten ahold of his blood thanks to her father. With the breakthroughs in medicine, there was no telling what Trask had done.
A clone?
A twin they didn’t know about?
Someone made to look like him?
‘Stop it. You’re driving yourself crazy.’ she told herself.
The elevator doors opened, and she stepped into the elevator car, glancing at her watch with a grimace. Two hours late. It could be worse but today was supposed to be her second day back and showing up late didn’t look good. It had taken a lot of convincing on H.R’s part to agree to the transition. She didn’t want to give them a reason to back out of the arrangement and be forced into full-time hours before Jon was six months old.
The doors pinged open on the newsroom floor, and the smell of coffee and stale doughnuts mixed with the fresh ink from the printing press lingered in the air. “Lois! What in the Sam Hill are you doing here? I thought you were working from home today?”
Lois threw him an annoyed look, tucking a hair behind her ear as she maneuvered her way to her desk through the maze of reporters hard at work. “I changed my mind.” She looked across the aisle at the empty desk where her husband normally sat. “Where’s Clark?”
“I think he’s holed up in the conference room with Jimmy.” Perry pointed to the door that was closed and the blinds were drawn. He pulled up the front page of the evening edition, “By the way, great work on that Lex Luthor story. Top notch stuff.”
“It was a team effort.” Lois managed a weak smile. Most of the story she’d written waiting for Clark to get back last night from his rescue. After their argument and their making up, he’d helped her clean it up into something legible and provided some of the background info on the satellite that had been hijacked by Lex.
“Well, it felt good to see my top two reporters’ by-line on the front page again.” Perry complimented with a pat on her shoulder.
She nodded her recognition, and half-grin before turning to the conference room. Clark was talking to Jimmy. That was a good sign, right?
***
Five Months Ago…The room felt ten times smaller as Clark relayed the events that had occurred that evening to her. Lois placed a protective hand over her abdomen, listening intently as Clark tried to downplay what had occurred. She’d seen the news coverage of her husband cradling his head and struggling to his feet to face off against the assailant he’d been trying to stop. She’d seen his chest open and a glowing black light emit from it. Then she’d seen Clark use his heat vision and an explosion short-circuited the coverage, leaving nothing but static.
Two hours she’d waited to hear from Clark. He didn’t know about the footage when he’d arrived home. He just wrapped her in his arms and she did her best not to overreact when he relayed what happened that afternoon to her.
She laid a tentative hand on his shoulder, “Are you sure you’re all right?”
He took her hand in his, pulling her to him. “Fine, I promise.” He shrugged his shoulders, “Just a few bumps is all.” He offered her a broad smile, “Good thing I’m invulnerable.”
“It was more than that.” Lois shook her head, pulling away from him. “I saw the footage. What happened?”
“I don’t know.” He whispered hoarsely.
***
Lex looked around the underground tunnel, following the map he had been given. He tapped the red button on his earpiece and spoke, “Are we sure this is the right place, Asabi?”
“Mr. Vale has been informed of the punishment if he should double-cross us,” Asabi said coolly. “Unfortunately for him, Dr. Kelly is less patient than I am when it comes to carrying punishments out. He may not have time on his side should he betray us.”
“All our information told us the research into Superman was destroyed when Bureau 39 was taken out.” Lex mused, looking around the damp corridors. “Who else in Intergang would be working on a project regarding our alien friend?”
“There was a man named Darryl that was supposed to be in charge of the research department. Perhaps he took on the project alone?” Asabi guessed, pointing to the metal door in front of them. “There it is. The old Applied Science Division. Before the fire.”
Lex turned the handle to the door, and a loud creak echoed down the hall. “The secret to Superman’s undoing underneath my company’s headquarters. What are the chances?”
“Coincidence?” Asabi guessed.
“I don’t believe in coincidences.” Lex smiled.
***
“What do you mean you don’t know?” Lois pressed, taking a step toward her husband. The image of him holding his head as he struggled to stand up straight and the powerful blow he’d taken from Corbin haunted her.
“I don’t know.” He repeated, taking her hand in his. “It was like something was splitting my head into two the closer I got to Corbin.”
“His chest was glowing.” She whispered.
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Unfortunately, I destroyed whatever it was when I blew it up. There’s no way to tell what it was.” He looked down, tightening his lips. “Everything’s fine. I promise.”
“It didn’t look like everything was fine to me,” Lois said with a knowing look.
“It was gone after the explosion.” He pointed out. “Maybe it’s for the best.”
“Aren’t you at all curious what caused that?” Lois asked.
“No,” He shook his head. “I really don’t want to know.” He placed a protective hand on her stomach and linked his arm around her waist. “All I care about right now is right here.” He patted her round abdomen for emphasis. “Now, why don’t you catch me up on where you left off with the investigation?”
***
A loud bang from the harbor caught the attention of the dock workers outside Bibbo’s bar. Bibbo looked up from his desk, following the sound of commotion outside where he found the right pillar of the dock in flames. Water pails and wet towels were being thrown frantically at the flames as they continued to spread with the wind’s strong current.
Bibbo raced back inside and grabbed his fire extinguisher, dousing the flames with the white foam. A scatter of applause from the fishermen and dockworkers echoed around him, and he nodded gruffly before turning back to the inventory sheets on his desk.
When he reached the front door to his bar, he found a man with horn-rimmed glasses, dark hair, dark jeans and a t-shirt despite the unseasonably cold air that afternoon. There was something oddly familiar about the man, but he couldn’t place it. The man nodded in his direction and continued to move down the narrow alleyway with questionable characters lurking ahead.
Any other time he’d have minded his own business. Maybe it was the familiarity about the man. Maybe it was the soft edge to which the man carried himself. Whatever it was, it made Bibbo feel the urge to reach out and help him.
“Hey, you think you could help me out?” Bibbo pointed to the large pile of pallets that had been unloaded from the truck earlier. The man looked at him uncertainly but didn’t say anything and Bibbo continued. “I could fix you up a hot meal in return. My back isn’t what it used to be.”
The man seemed to ponder his response for a moment before giving half-smile and grunting, “Yeah, sure. Where you want them?”
***
The next morning, Lois, Clark, and Jimmy sat in the conference room going over everything they’d discovered on Gretchen Kelly and LexCorp. “Gretchen Kelly.” Clark laid the image of a young blonde woman with blue-green eyes on the conference table. “Last photo was taken three years ago at one of Lex Luthor’s fundraisers.”
“And no one’s seen or heard from her in the last year. It’s like she’s completely gone off the grid.” Jimmy explained, laying out the little information he’d found on the table for the duo.
“Weird,” Lois commented, flipping through the slim file in her hand.
“According to this, five years ago Dr. Kelly was Lex Luthor’s personal doctor. How did she go from a private practice to head of a multi-billion dollar corporation?” Clark wondered aloud, handing the medical journal to Lois.
“One can only wonder.” Lois snickered with a roll of the eyes.
“So, do you guys think this Gretchen Kelly is really running LexCorp under this dummy name?” Jimmy asked, looking through the files in front of him.
“I’m not sure.” Clark said, tapping his hand on the table. “We know Luthor is still out there. He can’t run things the way he used to. He needs a frontman or woman in this instance. Given Luthor’s history with her it’s not a stretch, but there’s still quite a bit we don’t know about her.”
“Lois, Clark,” Perry’s gruff tone at the conference room door interrupted.
They looked to their editor, “What is it Chief?” Lois inquired, setting the medical journal she was reading down.
“I just got off the phone with Bill Church. Seems there’s a big announcement that’ll be made at City Hall this morning. I want you two down there. Get me the exclusive on what’s going on.” Perry ordered.
“Any idea what the announcement is?” Clark asked, looking back at the files they’d been elbow deep in most of the morning. He really didn’t want to stop their research just yet. They were onto something. He could feel it.
“Will Bill it could be anything.” Perry mused, turning to Jimmy, “Jimmy, why don’t you tag along with Sanchez and help him out?”
“Really?!” Jimmy shot up happily. Clark could tell the young man was ecstatic about being able to tag along on something other than a ribbon cutting or dog show piece. “I won’t let you down, Chief!” Jimmy raced to his desk to grab his camera.
Perry turned back to the bullpen and made his way toward Ralph’s desk, “Simms! My office!”
Clark turned his attention to the piles of paperwork they’d made their way through the past three hours. “I guess we’ll have to table this until after Bill Church’s big announcement.”
“Yeah, unless his big announcement is that he’s the head of Intergang?” Lois teased, letting out a long sigh. She leaned back in her chair, rubbing her lower back. “Just what the doctor ordered. Standing around for another charity fluff piece while my ankles grow bigger and bigger by the second.”
“Come on,” Clark chuckled, “The sooner we get this over with the sooner we can get back to figuring out who’s behind JL Industries and what their interest is in Metropolis.”
***
The room emitted in a rainbow of glowing meteorites. Each one had been labeled and tagged with detailed reports on how subject ‘K’ had reacted to each specimen of the meteorite and how the different forms of the meteorite had been created. There were gold, green, yellow, red, and black variations all encased in glass viewing boxes.
“What do you want to do?” Asabi asked, looking at the glass case then back at Lex. He’d been back and forth between this room and the underground bunker over and over again for the entire evening. They needed to make a decision.
“Move it. Move all of it to the underground office. We’ll use all of it.” Lex instructed.
***
The balloons and popcorn vendors on the street gave the illusion of a fun celebration taking place. Lois wasn’t buying it as she and Clark approached the City Hall steps where Bill Church Jr stood with his father. “I still don’t understand why we’re wasting our time covering this,” Lois complained.
“Perry said there was a big announcement being made today.” Clark sighed, looking around. “So here we are.”
Lois looked to Jimmy who was following one of the senior photographers around the perimeter of the building, capturing the scene of the crowd. She glanced back at Clark, “Looks like Sanchez is showing Jimmy the ropes on his new camera.”
“It’ll be good for him to get his feet wet on a big assignment.” Clark reasoned aloud. “He’s got the eye for photography.”
“Yeah,” she chuckled, watching Jimmy struggle to keep up with the older yet active Ricardo Sanchez, one of the more senior photographers employed at the Daily Planet. “If he can keep up.”
***
What was it that kept drawing him to this street? He stared up at the street sign that read ‘Hyperion Avenue’ and sighed.
Why couldn’t he remember?
Why couldn’t he remember who he was?
He kicked a pebble in front of him aimlessly and stopped when he saw the pebble fly at an impossible height into the stars. He looked around, trying to see if anyone had seen him. Thankfully it was late enough that no one was around.
What was going on?
He was hearing things he shouldn’t be hearing.
He was seeing things he shouldn’t be seeing.
He was doing things he shouldn’t be able to do.
Who was he?
***
Bill Church stood in front of the City Hall steps with his son, Bill Church Jr. A smile pasted on his face and cameras trained on both of them. “It is with great pride that we announce the official news that Billy will be running against Governor Barnes in the upcoming election.”
An uproar of questions echoed around them, and Bill Jr. raised his arms to calm the crowd, “One at a time. One at a time.”
Below the steps of City Hall, a digital clock connected to an incendiary device ticked away the seconds. The echo from the streets around the device could be heard.
***
Clark heard the ticking in his ears. Everything around him seemed to move at slow motion as he pushed Lois away from the steps and toward the underground parking deck they’d come in at, signaling he had to leave. The crowd of reporters made it impossible for him to do anything ‘super’ without changing uniform first.
As fast as humanly possible he moved behind the alleyway on the corner and reappeared a second later in front of the steps of City Hall.
“Superman!” the crowd cheered, oblivious to the impending danger below.
“Everyone get out of here now!” He warned.
Before he could finish his statement, a rumble below could be felt. He looked below him in a panic, seeing the explosives device he’d detected beneath the steps of City Hall were nothing but a ruse. Below him, the rumble from the explosion in the underground subway tunnel--where the underground parking and transportation for the city connected--was in flames.
‘Lois…’***
Present Day…Lois closed the door behind her. She looked around the conference room, finding Clark on one end of the table engrossed in the files laid out in front of him. On the other end was Jimmy, buried in his own stack of files.
Clark looked up and met her gaze with a humorous expression, “You couldn’t stay away, huh?”
“Someone turned my alarm off.” Lois retorted, walking toward him with a teasing smile.
“Someone was tired from, uh, working late,” Clark said hurriedly, glancing toward Jimmy who had just poked his head out of the file he was reading to watch the two of them.
“Working? Is that what we’re calling it?” Lois smirked, watching the red blush that had begun to spread on the back of her husband’s neck flood to his ears. “What are those?” she asked, pulling up a seat next to Clark.
“Daily Planet tipline calls,” Clark said, showing her the full thickness of what he was going through. “For the last six months.”
“We’re eliminating the prank calls and looking for any other sightings of the supposed double,” Jimmy said, skeptically. “But all I’m able to find is a lot of strange Superman sightings.”
Clark frowned, sharing a look with Lois, “Me too.”
Lois looked between the two of them, uncertain how to respond. It was times like this she wished she could explain to her young friend the truth. The Superman sightings might not be Clark. There was proof for her and Clark, but not to Jimmy who still seemed ambivalent toward her husband.
“Well, that’s a start I guess,” Lois reasoned aloud, “But the Daily Planet is the paper with the most exclusives on Superman. It’d make sense we’d get a lot of tips on him. What about other papers?”
“Jimmy’s got a request in to get a copy of tips the Metropolis STAR has received over the last six months,” Clark explained.
“I’ve got a friend that works the phones over there,” Jimmy explained.
“Olsen!” Perry’s voice could be heard through the glass panel doors, and Jimmy looked to Lois.
“Go on. We’ll handle it from here.” Lois urged.
“Thanks, Jimmy,” Clark called after him.
Lois watched Jimmy leave then turned her attention back to Clark, “What did you find?”
“Over the last five months or so there have been reports of rescues from Superman that were not me. Every single one of them there’s complaints from the person he caught about excessive force or police brutality, but considering the source…”
“Five months. How could this be going on for five months and this is the first we’ve heard about it?” Lois asked.
“I don’t know.” Clark shook his head, “The notes here state it was chopped up to a criminal getting what he deserved or deemed not a Planet story.”
“Clark, someone out there has your powers.” Lois breathed, feeling the hair on the back of her neck stand up.
“I know.” Clark sighed.
“How did this happen?” Lois asked.
“I wish I knew.” Clark shook his head. “The important thing is we know now. I’m going to try and find him and see if I can get some answers.”
“And if you can’t?” Lois asked, “What then?”
“We’ll figure something else out.” He said. “Most of these rescues seem to be happening around Hobb’s Bay. I think once we finish up with the staff meeting and get the follow up on last night’s rescue filed I’ll try and do a patrol around the area and see what I can find out.”
“Okay,” Lois glanced at the time, “I’ll see what I can find out on the Annihilator and hopefully we can figure out how Lex Luthor got his hands on something like that.”
***
Jack Warren made his way down the narrow hallway, looking over his shoulder at the burly man that stood behind him. He didn’t dare question the reasoning for his being called. He knew where he was. He knew where he was going. He’d spent the last six months in hiding.
The DA had assured him that his cooperation would ensure his safety and then she’d stopped returning his calls. The security detail had disappeared and this man had appeared on his front door.
The boss had two meanings to Metropolis. One had been the elusive Lex Luthor that worked the system all the way up to the President of the United States. the other was a mystery to many. No one knew who he was or where he came from, but they all knew not to cross him. Of the two the latter was more lethal and dangerous.
“In here.” the metal door opened and Jack found himself shoved inside.
A small table and chair stood in the middle of the room. “Take a seat.” a voice behind him ordered. Warren turned to see Bill Church Jr. standing behind him with a leather briefcase in his hand. “We’ve got a lot to catch up on, Mr. Warren.”
***
Five Months Ago…The chaos of ambulatory workers, firefighters, and police moved at an excruciating speed as Clark hovered over his wife, holding the large concrete slab up so they could move her. He wanted to yell, scream and cry at the same time. He couldn’t move.
“Okay, we’ve got her.” the lead EMT said as he tightened the last strap on the gurney. “On my count. One, two, three…”
He felt a bile rise in his throat when he saw the blood-stained gauze pressed against her right side. Once all of the rescue workers were safely out of the way, he lowered the cement block and began scanning the area for any other victims. He wanted to follow the ambulance. He wanted to be at the hospital and know what was going on.
But he was Superman.
People were trapped.
Someone’s child.
Someone’s mother.
Someone’s father.
They all belonged to someone. He had to help. He knew he had to, but he hated it just the same.
***
The bright lights shone overhead. Lois groaned in pain as she groggily came to. She turned to her side and winced when she felt the pain pulse down her right side.
“Lois?”
She could make out her sister’s voice, and she tried to sit up, “Luce?” Her voice croaked like she’d been crying.
“I’ll get the doctor.” Lucy placed a hand on her shoulder.
Lois squinted, seeing the scratch on her sister’s face. “What happened?”
“Not now,” Lucy said, stepping out into the hall.
***
Three hours. Fifteen hundred lives had been saved tonight. No casualties. Plenty of injuries. The city would probably be spending close to half a million dollars to rebuild the underground transport system that had been destroyed.
Who had been the target?
He couldn’t rationalize a reason behind the attack.
Someone had planted a fake bomb beneath the steps of City Hall. He’d been so focused on that bomb he hadn’t even thought to look for another incendiary device. Luckily Lucy had been nearby and able to ride with Lois to the hospital.
He straightened his tie, looking up at the double doors to the Metropolis General Hospital. When he’d called Lucy earlier, she’d said Lois had been unconscious most of the ride over to the hospital. He glanced at the time and grimaced. Three hours later and he was finally darkening the hospital doors.
Room 103.
He recalled the room number Lucy had given him earlier. He bypassed the emergency room entrance and made his way toward the reception desk in the hospital lobby, pulling his ID out for verification. After checking his information, the receptionist waved him through and directed him to the Women’s center where Lois had been checked in.
Once he was behind closed doors, he scanned the hallway, quickly finding the room with ease. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for any possible outcome and the barrage of questions he knew was sure to follow. His hand tightened on the metal doorknob.
‘Breathe.’ he told himself.
***
Lois winced as the strap around her arm tightened and the cold stethoscope pressed against her arm. She looked up at the nurse who seemed oblivious to how tight the armband was around her.
“The doctor should be in in a few minutes.” the nurse instructed, releasing the armband from her arm.
“Lois?” She heard Clark’s voice as the door opened.
She turned to see her disheveled looking husband standing in the doorway. “Hey,” She could feel the corners of her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
“Hey,” he said, moving to her side. She released the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding when his hand brushed against her cheek.
“Nobody’s telling me anything,” she said, holding back tears. “Lucy went to find the doctor and I…”
“It’s okay,” He wrapped a tentative arm around her. “I’m sorry I couldn’t get here sooner.”
She let out a shuddered breath, holding back tears that were threatening to escape. “You’re here now.” She could feel a hard lump in her throat.
The familiar voice of her doctor accompanied with a soft knock on the door pulled her attention to the present. “Lois, how are you doing?”
“That depends on what you’ve got to tell us?” Lois said eying the folder in her doctor’s hand. “How bad is it?”
“While you were unconscious, we did a few tests and scans,” she explained. “We were able to find a heartbeat. That’s the good news.”
Lois let out a sigh of relief as Clark leaned over to kiss her cheek, tightening his arm around her. “What’s the bad news?” Lois asked, seeing the uncertain expression on her doctor’s face.
She crossed her arms over her chest, taking a deep breath before diving into the explanation. “The bad news is you have what we call a Class one Placenta Abruption.”
“What is that?” Clark asked, placing a hand over the left side of her abdomen.
“It means the placenta has begun to pull away from the uterine wall.” the doctor explained. “I’m not going to lie. This is very serious. I’m going to put you on complete bed and pelvic rest. I want to try and keep your son where he is as long as I can.” She explained, writing her notes on the file in her hand.
“Is he in pain?” Lois asked, placing her hand over Clark’s, fingering the gold band on his hand.
“No. He’s perfectly fine and safe where he is right now. As long as the abruption doesn’t increase we can still try and make it as close to your due date as possible.” the doctor explained, offering a gentle smile. “It’s just a little bed rest. Your son is alive and healthy. The bumps and bruises you sustained during the explosion are minimal compared to some of the other cases I’ve seen this afternoon. It’s only eight more weeks.”
***
Present Day…Bill Church Jr. looked at the face of Jack Warren, staring him down. He knew he had the upper hand. He knew he could intimidate and bully the information out of Warren without any issue. The man had been in hiding since the takedown of his and his father’s intricate corruption of the Metropolis P.D.
Now that his father was showing signs of weakness it was up to him to show Intergang who was in charge. His first piece of business would be to find the person responsible for the organization losing its hold on Metropolis and making that individual pay for crossing them.
“You know why I’m here. You know why you’re here. We know the leak came from your department, Warren. You ran. You hid like a coward. Now, I’m going to give you one chance to make it right.” Bill Jr. instructed.
“What do you want to know?” Warren asked.
“The leak. You know who it was?”
“Depends,” Warren looked warily around the room.
“On what?”
“What you plan to do to me after I give it to you,” Warren said hesitantly.
“What do you want?” Bill Church Jr. asked.
“Intergang off my back,” Warren ordered. “Let me live my life in peace.”
“Give me the name, and you have yourself a deal.” Bill Jr. said in a cold, menacing tone.
“It was one of our new recruits. Lane. Lucy Lane.” Warren said.
Bill Jr snaked his arm around his shoulder, “See, Jack, now was that so hard? All that running and hiding for nothing.”
“Yeah, I guess….”
Warren fell to the ground, and Bill Jr. looked to the burly man with a needle in his hand. “Take him out to the bay. No witnesses.”
“You got it, boss.”
***
Four Months Ago…Dr. Klein watched as the man of steel paced in front of him. Ever since he’d come to him a few months ago with the tale of how a government agency had put him through tests right after his arrival on Earth he’d been working tirelessly with the superhero to help put a stop to the subliminal messages that had appeared. Unfortunately, nothing that they had tried seemed to have any effect. The messages were still there, and recently the messages were tied with images and memories that were not of Superman’s.
It was a mystery in itself, but the more he dug into the testing Superman had been subjected to the more he pulled away. The discussion of needles and the meteorite had come up a few months ago, but Superman had been adamant that he would not allow himself to be tested on with the meteorite--even if it did help stop the messages.
“It’s happening again,” Superman said, pacing in front of Dr. Klein. “One minute I’m fine. The next I feel like my head’s being split into two and then all of a sudden there are memories in my head that weren’t there before.”
“How can you be sure they’re memories?” Dr. Klein pressed.
“I don’t know. They feel...like a memory?” Superman shrugged, throwing his arms up in the air. “It feels like it’s something that happened. Not something planted like the messages before.”
“Could these be repressed memories?” Dr. Klein guessed.
“I don’t know.” Superman sighed. “I just need them to stop.”
“How long have you been having them?” Dr. Klein pressed.
“A month or so,” Superman said bitterly.
***
“Everything looks great. The bed rest seems to be helping” the doctor looked up at Lois happily, tapping her pen on the notepad in front of her. “Baby is getting in position, and you’re already dropping. A little earlier than I’d like but we’ll keep an eye on it and intervene if we need to.”
“Intervene?” Clark asked uncertainly, glancing at Lois who was wiping the gel off her abdomen with the paper cloth.
“As we discussed last month, the remainder of this pregnancy is very fragile. The abruption to the placenta wall could cause this little guy to come early. We’re taking all the precautions we can to ensure he stays in the womb as long as possible. ” The doctor explained gently.
“I’m already experiencing Braxton Hicks though.” Lois pointed out with a frown.
“Yes, but that doesn’t necessarily mean anything.” the doctor reassured. “Just try and stay hydrated and avoid stress where you can. Four more weeks until your due date. You can make it.”
Lois watched the doctor leave and muttered, “Easy for her to say.”
***
‘Church For Governor’ was plastered all over the side of Metropolis General’s parking garage as Lois and Clark exited the building.
“Avoid stress?” Lois mimicked, shaking her head in disgust. “I’d love to know how we’re supposed to do that when the city is falling apart at the seams.” She stopped in front of the automated newsstand and pointed to the front page of the Daily Planet with an image of a fire station engulfed in flames. “They’re getting more and more bold. I thought this new department was supposed to help stop Intergang. What are they doing?”
Clark shook his head, wrapping a supportive hand around her shoulders and steered her back toward the aisle they'd parked on. They’re doing what they can, Lois, but just like Superman the police can’t be everywhere at once.”
“It’s Intergang. We know it is. Why won’t the mayor at least point the finger and call them out? He still refuses to admit Intergang is still in Metropolis. The attacks are getting worse and worse.” Lois asked as they approached the silver Jeep Cherokee. “That explosion last night nearly took out an entire block.”
“I don’t know.” Clark sighed, opening the passenger side door for her. “I’m sure the mayor has his reasons, but right now you need to calm down and breathe.” He instructed, running a hand against her cheek. “The doctor just said to avoid stress. I don’t think working yourself up over everything that is out of your control is what she had in mind.”
“Sorry,” Lois smiled sheepishly at him. “I guess the not knowing is starting to get to me.”
“We are going to stop them,” Clark promised her. “We’re going to find out who’s behind Intergang and expose them, but you’re going to have to accept that it may not happen before this little one is born.” He placed a hand on her abdomen.
“I know,” Lois said softly, looking down at her feet. “I just want to stop them.”
“We will,” Clark reassured her. He tensed a moment, and she looked up at him in concern.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Fine.” He said hurriedly. “We should get you back home.” She felt a slight pain move down her lower back then to her side and turned away. Braxton Hicks again. “You having more of those Braxton Hicks?” Clark asked.
“Yeah,” Lois said, rubbing her side where the pain had been a moment ago.
“You want to have the doctor look you over again just to be sure?” Clark suggested.
“No, let’s just go home.” She said with a sigh.
***
“What were you able to find out?” Lex asked, looking over Gretchen Kelly’s shoulder.
The screen showed the footage from Superman’s fight with Metallo last month. Gretchen continued to fiddle with the knobs, forcing the image hidden beneath the static to show. “It’s still not near the resolution you’d want to see a clear image but if I freeze this frame here you can clearly see right here when the meteorite exploded there are three figures in that alleyway.”
“So, someone was nearby?” Lex asked, not following what she was saying.
“No, Lex, look!” She pointed to the screen. “Here before the explosion there’s Superman, and there’s Corbin. No one else. As the explosion takes place, there are three figures.” She turned a knob and clicked on the image in the shadows, zooming in to see a familiar face.
“Superman?”
She shook her head, pointing to another figure. “Nope, he’s right here.” She pointed to the other side of the screen and zoomed in.
“There’s two of them?” Lex asked.
“I think the explosion created a double. A mirror image of what the meteorite was looking at at that moment. In that particular moment it was looking at Superman so essentially yes, there are two Supermen in this image.”
“We need to find him,” Lex ordered.
***
They arrived home in silence. Lois let out a heavy sigh as she stepped out of the passenger side of the Jeep. One month of bed rest. It had been torture having to sit around and literally do nothing while everyone around her was able to do what her mind was screaming at her to do. Perry had ordered her on maternity leave which left her unable to work on any story, research or anything she and Clark had been focused on before the subway collapse.
It was hard.
She was growing impatient with the hours and minutes and days that passed. Clark did his best to try and be home with her in the afternoons to transition both of them into the working schedule they’d agreed to for when she went back to work. Though it was nice to have him home, it was growing frustrating for her given that she couldn’t take advantage of the extra alone time considering she was on pelvic and bed rest.
Not that she felt like doing anything but crawling into the bed and sleeping most of the day away lately. The injuries she’d sustained last month had healed for the most part. All that was left of her injuries was the placenta abruption that thankfully hadn’t changed.
“You hungry?” Clark asked, opening the door to the foyer for her.
“A little.” she said, “You home for the rest of the day?”
“Yeah,” He leaned in to give her a peck on the cheek. “I thought I could keep you company while you complain about being tortured from the excruciating boredom you’re being forced to endure.”
“I can’t even nest properly. You already finished the nursery.” She gave him a fake pout.
“One less thing to procrastinate about.” He countered, scooping her up in his arms. “No standing.” He ordered, walking her into the dining room and setting her down in front of the dining table.
He began moving at super-speed, preparing lunch while she took a seat. She took a shallow breath. She really didn’t feel good. The pain from the last contraction was still lingering on her back. She felt the tightness around her abdomen and shook her head. Maybe she should have gone back to the doctor earlier. She felt moisture between her legs and looked down.
Blood.
“Clark?” she called after him.
He stopped in front of her. “What is it?”
“I’m bleeding.” Her voice trembled as she spoke, knowing it was still considered early for her to deliver. “We need to get to the hospital.”
“Don’t move.” He ordered. A split-second later he had changed into the Superman suit and was carrying her hospital bag. A second later they were in the air.
***
Lucy paced in the waiting room, looking for any sign of Clark from the double doors that led to the maternity ward. Flashes from her time in this hospital five years ago came back to her. The yelling and crying that came with tears of joy when Jamie was born. The soft cries when he made his presence known in the world.
It was an emotional journey.
“Hey, Luce, why don’t you sit down?” Jimmy pointed to the seat next to him.
“I’ll sit down once I know everyone’s okay.” Lucy said uncertainly.
“That could be hours.” Jimmy reminded her.
“Then I’ll wait hours,” Lucy said, turning her attention back to the double doors. “Have you called Perry?”
“Already called.” Jimmy reminded her.
“The Kents?”
“Their plane lands in an hour. Your mom is picking them up.” Jimmy reminded her. “Pete and Rachel are waiting by the phone. Everyone’s been called. All that’s left to do is wait.”
“I hate waiting.” Lucy retorted.
***
“You’re doing great, Lois,” the doctor called out, looking up from the edge of the exam table. “Let’s take a look.”
Lois fell back against her husband, allowing him to support her as he gently massaged her lower back. Back contractions. Painful, excruciating back contractions. If it weren't for Clark giving her the added heat vision to her back she would have been in tears hours ago.
Three and a half weeks of on and off contractions until she’d finally been far enough to get pushed into active labor. From the time they broke her water to the time she’d received the epidural she was in hell. Her back felt like it was on fire. She felt like her insides felt like they were ripping her in half. Then finally the pain subsided and was replaced with an unbearable pressure all along her back with every contraction.
“I swear to God if you tell me I’m doing great one more time without being any further along…” Lois muttered irritably.
The doctor gave her a knowing smile and Clark brushed his lips against her temple, kneading at her lower back. She looked back at him, seeing the emotion on his face. “It’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay.”
“I love you so much, Lois,” he murmured in her ear.
“Okay, Lois, it looks like you’re just about ready to push,” the doctor said, pointing to the stirrups.
“Oh, thank God!” Lois sighed, holding her husband’s hand as she hooked her heels into the stirrups.
***
“It’s a boy!” the doctor cheered happily.
The soft cries of their son echoed in his ears as Clark held his wife against him, kissing her happily.
“Hi,” Lois looked up at their son that was wrapped in striped blankets as the doctor cleared his lungs, holding him up for them to see. He stared back at them with the most peculiar expression.
The tears fell down both of their cheeks. Clark whispered a soft, “I love you,” to Lois.
The nurses began looking their son over, and Lois turned back to him panicked, “Stay with him.” She leaned back on the hospital bed, completely spent from delivering their son.
He nodded, following the nurses to the small table where his son was patted down with several striped blankets by six different hands, reaching in. His son’s soft cries were like music to his ears. Clark took his hand, allowing it to curl around his finger. “It’s okay,” He reassured him. His pink wrinkled face turned to him. His cries stopped.
“He recognizes your voice.” One of the nurses told him.
“Hey, little guy,” He whispered hoarsely, trying to suppress the emotion that had been building up for the past nine months. He was here. He was finally here. He and Lois had read all the books. They had gone to all the classes—but nothing had prepared him for looking into his son’s eyes for the first time.
He winced as he watched the nurse apply a solution to his son’s eyes, matting them closed. A soft cry could be heard from his little lungs, and he laid a hand on his chest, “It’s okay,” He reassured him. He could feel the tears in his eyes as his son’s small hand wrapped around his finger tightly.
“Hey there little one, are you ready to see your daddy?” the nurse nodded to Clark, holding handing him to Clark.
He reached his hands out, allowing one hand to support his head and the other his back as he cradled him in the tiny diaper they had him in. The nurse handed him a small blanket, but he shook his head, recalling Lois’ fear of swaddling and blankets after what happened to Jamie. Even though they weren’t the cause of his death the idea that so many babies could die from being swaddled improperly or getting strangled on a blanket was enough to make Lois decide against the practice of swaddling and take extra measures to keep their son safe.
‘What’s preventable we will prevent.’“Just support his head like this,” the nurse instructed, raising his elbow slightly which allowed his son to nestle himself against his chest.
“Clark?” Lois called out to him. He turned to see his wife who was watching the two of them with a tearful smile.
“Okay, little guy, let’s get you all bundled up,” the nurse cooed.
“No, don’t swaddle him,” Lois pleaded. “Please just let me see him.”
The nurse hesitated for a moment and then nodded, motioning for him to take him to Lois.
He took a seat on the edge of the hospital bed with her. “He’s incredible,” his voice cracked looking back at her as she reached out for their young son. As carefully as he could, he laid him across her bare chest. He seemed immediately at ease—almost knowing that this was his mother and he was safe.
“I’ve never seen anything so perfect in all my life,” He managed, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as he leaned in to kiss her.
“I love you,” She whispered hoarsely as her voice cracked, giving away the emotion she was feeling as her hands ran up and down the pink skin of their son’s back. “Oh, Clark, he’s so beautiful.”
His little eyes blinked through the solution, trying to see the lights and sounds around him. He let out a soft whine then nestled himself back against Lois’ chest. “Hey, there bud, you’ve got your whole life to check the world out and explore,” Clark reassured, placing a tender hand on his back, covering Lois’ hand with his.
The nurse approached with a bracelet for Lois, “You all will have matching hospital bracelets to make sure everyone matches. Each nurse that comes in should check before performing any tests on either of you.”
Lois nodded her understanding and a small whimper came out of the small baby lying across her chest. “It’s okay,” she whispered, cradling him in her arms and positioning him against her breast to begin nursing.
He watched in amazement how at ease Lois seemed with something that was so foreign to him. There was a slight whimper as the small hand fisted against her chest in protest. “I know. I know. I ‘m sorry, but you’re just gonna have to be patient. It’ll come out eventually.” He gave another whimper then stopped, focusing on his task of trying to get nutrients from his mother rather than cry.
“Do you have a name picked out?”
Clark looked toward the nurse that was preparing their son’s chart, “Jon.” He smiled at the image of his wife and son, unable to wipe the grin from his face. “Jonathan Samuel Kent.”
“Welcome to the world, Jon.” The nurse smiled, printing the name on a certificate as she reached out to ink his foot to get his footprints.
TBC...
Comments Go Here
