Previously - Chapter 30 ***
Chapter 31 ***
The house was well-lit on the outside despite the sun getting ready to peak over the horizon. A light covering of snow blanketed it along with everything else, but it would likely melt before the day was over. As the police car pulled up to the enormous house, Jimmy felt a sense of awe. He’d never live in a house like this, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to. He liked his job and life and if that meant he didn’t live this kind of high-class lifestyle, then so be it.
He just hoped Lois was still here. A few days after the anniversary party, Luthor apparently decided they needed a vacation and came to this house. The history of this house was something interesting as well, owned by a string of crime bosses throughout its history, it was surely exactly what Luthor needed. Or at least what he understood Luthor would need now that he was fully aware of the kind of monster they were dealing with.
Henderson had allowed him one squad car with two cops to see what they could find. Perry and Jimmy rode in the back on the way to the house. When the car stopped near the front entrance, he had to wait until one of the cops opened the door for him.
Jimmy was worried about what would be waiting for him when he knocked on the door. To make things easier, he chose to leave his camera in the police car. He envisioned an angry mob of Luthor’s minions coming after him with the intent to silence the one would bring them all down. But, knowing his friends were in danger, he pushed it aside and followed one of the cops up to the door while Perry and the other cop walked around the side of the house.
The cop’s knock was assertive, but there was no answer. They waited a few seconds before he knocked again. Just when they were sure no one would answer, a man dressed like a butler opened the door. Jimmy’s eyes widened in surprise. A butler?
“Can I help you?” the man asked eyeing first the cop, then Jimmy. He even sounded the way a butler sounded in Jimmy’s imagination.
Jimmy swallowed before asking, “Is Lois Lane here?”
“I’m sorry, it is much too early for any interruptions at this time,” the butler answered in a polite yet stiff voice. “Perhaps you’d like to return at a more reasonable-”
“We have reason to believe she’s being held here against her will,” the cop interrupted.
The butler looked affronted as he took in a sharp breath. “I beg your pardon, sir, but no such thing would ever take place here.”
Jimmy rolled his eyes. “Can we please just talk to her?”
The butler turned his flinty eyes to him and opened his mouth ready with some retort when a thundering blast shook them all. Looks of surprise and concern covered all of their faces and the cop ran quickly back to the squad car.
Jimmy heard him radio for back-up and spout off the address as he looked in the direction he was certain the sound had come from. Running through the snow to the edge of the property that butted the top of an escarpment, Jimmy peered down the frosted slope at what was most likely the point of the blast.
A floodplain, the land below appeared flat and shimmered with snow that the rising sun now illuminated. A house much smaller than this one sat with a gaping hole in the back side. An area of melted snow shaped like a sunburst surrounded it. He spotted three figures laying lifeless in the snow and a fourth standing some yards away. Unable to tell who any of them were, he knew one thing was certain.
He was too late.
If only he’d figured this out earlier.
“What happened?” Perry asked, breathing hard as he came up to stand beside him. “Oh my God. You don’t think…”
Jimmy looked over at this man that had always served as his father figure and knew that he was thinking the same thing. “How do we get down there?” Jimmy asked in a panic.
The two ran back to the cops who were climbing back into the cop car. “Wait here!” one yelled to them with his hand up as they approached.
“No!” Jimmy shook his head adamantly, refusing to stop. He opened the car door when he reached it and climbed inside despite the officer’s protest.
“You have to take us with you,” Perry asserted. “Lois is our friend! If you don’t take us with you, it’s Henderson you’ll have to answer to because we all know I won’t let this go.”
The two officers exchanged a look before one nodded. “Buckle up,” he instructed, doing the same. “But once we get there you two will have to stay in the car until we secure the area.”
Jimmy opened his mouth to protest, but was silenced by the hand Perry placed on his arm.
The cop continued. “After we’ve checked on any victims and preserved any evidence and know that another blast isn’t coming, one of us will come back to let you out.”
Perry nodded. “We understand,” he said turning a glare at Jimmy.
“Yeah, okay.”
The car ride over was short and fast. Jimmy prayed that Lois would be alright. That they would find her, undo whatever it was Luthor had done, find CK and put everything back to normal. As they came down the street and pulled into the drive, Jimmy saw the flashing lights of emergency vehicles coming from the other direction. Relief that help was on the way washed over him.
“I hope she’s okay,” he whispered.
“I’m sure she is,” Perry said. “She’s the strongest person I know.”
Jimmy fidgeted with his camera as he tried his hardest to wait patiently in the car. After what he was sure were hours, one of the cops they rode with came back to let them out. “I think your friend is around back,” he said. “Keep away from anything marked.”
Jimmy nodded his agreement, dropped his camera on the floor of the car, and took off sprinting around the house, shouting Lois’s name.
When he came around the corner, two figures sat near the edge of the melted snow. One of the figures was most definitely Lois and she was nearly embracing the other. Anxious to get to her, he kept running and shouting. As he neared, he recognized the other person as none other than Clark. He stopped short of running them over, looking first to Lois and then to CK.
“CK?!?” Jimmy couldn’t keep the surprise from his voice. He had been sure he would have to wait to be able to see his best friend again,
after getting Lois back to normal. But here he was. Jimmy shook his head. Leaning his hands on his knees, he took several deep breaths before he tried to speak. “What did…? Why are you…?”
“Jimmy, calm down.” Lois smiled as she put her hand up and patted his arm. “What are you doing here?”
He looked around at the debris strewn about, and paramedics and firemen moving about the scene. “I came to save you,” he answered. He looked at her then and realized he sounded like a lunatic. Shaking his head, he tried again. “I mean, I thought you were in trouble.”
“Is everyone here alright?” a paramedic interrupted, tossing a blanket around Lois first, then Clark.
“Lois!” Perry called from behind him. “Clark?!” he said with the same surprised confusion Jimmy had. “Great shades of Elvis! What are you doing here?”
Jimmy looked to Clark who, along with the bruising on his face, appeared to be in some pain as he moved his arms to grab the blanket. “I think CK is hurt,” Jimmy said to the paramedic, trying to be helpful, kneeling beside him.
“It’s okay,” CK said, waving the paramedic away. “It’s just a scratch.”
“We can give you a lift to the hospital to get you checked out,” the paramedic suggested.
“No!” Lois and Clark shouted in unison.
Jimmy smiled and looked from Clark to Lois. Everything would be fine.
***
Lois reached to squeeze Clark’s hand reassuringly. “No, he’s fine,” she told the paramedic in as calm a voice as she could. “I’ll take care of him.”
Nodding, the paramedic left, and she was relieved at having dodged the need to answer some difficult questions. She was sure, now that she understood the nature of Clark’s…condition, that they would be able to find a way to get him back to his version of normal. And any injuries he had right now would be history.
She let out a breath and watched Clark as he followed firefighters and paramedics with his eyes. It was a bleak picture. Some were putting out the small fires that remained in and around the house. Others were moving debris. Two policemen laid a blanket over Lex’s body. Three paramedics were working on putting Scott on a stretcher.
“Hell’s bells! What in tarnation went on here?” Perry asked, looking around as well.
“A … weapon exploded,” she said simply. Remembering Jimmy’s comment about why he was there, she looked in his direction and asked, “How did you know we were in trouble?”
“I didn’t know
both of you were in trouble,” he said as he reached a hand out to Clark to help him up. “I can’t believe you’re here, Clark.”
“To be honest, Jimmy, me either,” Clark admitted with a chuckle.
“Lois,” Jimmy started, looking back at her as Perry helped her to her feet. She could tell he was nervous about what he was about to say. “I don’t know how to tell you this,” he started again, “but Luthor is a monster and he kidnapped you and I don’t even know what all he’s done…” He stopped when she tossed her head back and huffed. “You know? How?”
“Scott,” she said.
“Your cameraman??”
“Yeah.” She had no intention of explaining further now, but she could tell Jimmy was dying to know. “How do
you know?” she asked, deferring his next questions.
“It was an accident,” he said, shaking his head. “I was investigating a medical malpractice case and remembered everything yesterday.”
“The kid insisted I listen to Nat King Cole all night until it worked on me, too,” Perry added, looking sideways at Jimmy.
“I don’t know if Henderson found the right song yet.” Jimmy finished. Lois saw Jimmy glance at his best friend. “Are you guys okay?”
“We’re fine, Jimmy,” Clark said. “We’ve been through a lot just now and I still don’t remember everything yet.” Clark smiled, but Lois could see right through him. She naturally moved closer to Clark. She felt his surprise but was comforted when he wrapped his blanketed arm around her. Nestled at his side, they walked behind Perry and Jimmy up the steps beside the house.
“Do you remember that you guys are married?” Perry asked, looking back over his shoulder.
She felt Clark stiffen and they both stopped moving forward.
“What?” Lois asked. Lois shook her head. She knew there were holes, but how could she not remember that important of an event? Why hadn’t it been one of the first memories to return?
“It was the week before Superman left,” Jimmy explained.
“But I remember him leaving.” She frowned.
“You really didn’t remember that?” he asked looking from one to the next.
“I found rings tucked into the wallet Scott gave me,” Clark said. She quickly looked at him as he continued. “He was trying to convince me, but I didn’t believe him … until he showed me the wallet.” Turning to face her, he added, “It had a picture of us. You were wearing one of them in it. I only thought maybe we had been engaged. Being married would explain why there were two rings.”
She didn’t remember that either. All she could do was stare at him with her mouth open.
“I guess you guys got sick of waiting,” Perry said with a smile on his face. “It all happened very fast right after we’d all thought Bad Brain Johnson had killed Lois and Superman. Nice little ceremony near that fountain you’re so fond of at Centennial Park. Just a few of us there.” He and Jimmy turned to continue toward the front of the house. And she felt Clark pull her along.
Married? Stunned by this news, she looked around at the scene as they ambled slowly. She saw countless emergency vehicles parked at odd angles in odd places. The chaotic arrangement resembled the jumbled mess in her mind and she suddenly felt overwhelmed by everything. She stumbled, and Clark caught her.
Just like he always has.
That thought only exacerbated the problem, reminding her that things hadn’t been that way for two months, and the familiar queasiness she’d felt the first time her memories came back assaulted her. Would he still be there when he found out?
She stumbled again and this time, Clark looked at her. The look in his eyes was uncertain and she wondered if he had similar thoughts coursing through his head. What had happened to him while they were apart? It couldn’t be nearly as devastating as her story.
“Perry? Jimmy?” he called to them. “Would you mind letting the police know we’re going to go over there and sit for a bit?” He nodded his head toward a snow-covered bench down a path that lead to what was probably a beautiful garden in the spring.
“Sure, Clark,” Perry said, nodding.
The crunch of the snow wasn’t enough to distract Lois from her worries. She clung to Clark for both warmth and strength. But she wasn’t sure she would be able to talk about any of this yet. Not when her stomach was in knots, and she hadn’t even had a chance to think things through by herself.
When they reached the bench, Clark used his other blanketed arm to brush the snow away and they sat side by side. Clark leaned closer and draped his arms and blanket around her. He held her like he was afraid that she would disappear or leave if he let go. And while it felt amazing to be close to him again, there was so much standing in the way.
And they were
married?
“Oh Lois, I’m sorry,” he breathed into her hair and tears immediately began welling in her eyes. “I’m so sorry. I should never have left. It was a trick and I didn’t see it.” She felt a small shake of his head. “None of this would have happened if I hadn’t left. I’m so sorry,” he whispered again.
“No,” she interrupted, her voice cracking, “I told you to go.” She wiped at the tears streaming down her face and shivered but couldn’t say if it was from the cold or something else.
“And… seeing as we’re
married…” Clark began with a smile but changed to a frown as he pulled back slightly, “I have to be honest with you about something.”
Lois frowned, afraid of what he would say.
“Lana…” he said.
“Lana?” Lois repeated. Clark’s old girlfriend from Smallville. She couldn’t imagine why he would be bringing her up. Unless… Her stomach roiled.
“She’s been…” Clark began, looking ashamed, “staying with me. We just happened to be in the same place and … But
nothing happened.” He shook his head adamantly before he closed his eyes and let out a sigh. He looked towards his feet and let out a small laugh. “Lois, she had been staying at my apartment, up until just before you showed up in Columbia. She … heard me talking to you … in my sleep. I didn’t understand it then, but I do now.”
“Clark-” she started to say but stopped, choking on the words when she realized what she would have to say. She looked away from him at the long shadows the rising sun was creating on the snow.
They both still had holes in their memories. They still needed to put the rest of the pieces together and make sense of everything that happened. Clark was making an effort to be honest with her, but she hadn’t yet told him what had happened to her. And, while she knew she needed to, she wasn’t sure she could do that.
“Lois?” he said so gently it hurt. “I’m sorry, I had no idea what was going on. I am just relieved I was so … miserable myself … that I didn’t want …” He turned her face to his with a caring finger and looked directly into her eyes as fresh tears slid down her cheeks. “What is it?”
How could she tell him she had been
married to Lex? Did he already know?
Did he know that, in every sense of the word, she’d been
married to Lex? Worse, according to him, she was carrying his child. How would they get past this? She closed her eyes in an effort to curb the nausea, but scenes from the evening just played over and over. She was unable to stop the fresh sobs that came forth.
Clark pulled her close exactly as she needed him to. “Tell me? Please?” he asked.
But she couldn’t say it.
“It’s nothing,” she lied. “I’m just so glad I finally have you back.” She still couldn’t stem the sobs that seemed to be worsening.
“That’s not nothing, Lois,” he said. “What is it?” He released her and held her at arm’s length, but Lois lowered her head to keep him from being able to see through her. She didn’t know how to tell him.
“No,” she cried, pushing Clark away. Taking deep breaths, she got up as quickly as she could and stepped away from him. There was nowhere for her to go. She felt this intense guilt and a need to get away from Clark before she hurt him again.
The fight left her. It was all too much. She sank to the ground and wrapped herself tightly in her blanket.
***
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