Story: Clark Kent vs. Superman
By: Rhea

Thanks again go to Lisa (MrsMosley) and to all those that took the time to leave feedback! You guys are great!

Previously:

The sound of someone clearing their throat got their attention. “Perhaps we can discuss this someplace a little more privately.” Nigel St. James stood in the doorway with a gun pointed at them. “If you will, please. This way.” The nurse that had assisted them earlier smiled conspiratorially behind him.

Lois whispered into Clark’s ear, “I knew there was something fishy about her.”

Clark groaned as he rose to his feet to follow the others. This was turning out to be a very long night.

<><><>

Part Seven

Lois leaned against Clark in the back of a utilitarian van, bracing herself against the jostling motion as the vehicle departed the hospital. Clark held her tightly, trying to protect her from the worst of the movement. His arm was draped around her shoulders, and Lois rested her head against his shoulder. She wished that she could truly enjoy this closeness.

Lois looked at the couple sitting on the other end of the van’s empty rear space. The imposter still wore the hospital gown, but he had an overcoat thrown over his shoulders as well. When Nigel St. James had gotten a look at his bare backside, the older man had sneered and removed his own coat, not wanting to attract any more attention than was necessary from the legitimate hospital staff.

They had followed his orders and had not made a scene, leaving the hospital with no one the wiser. Lois figured that it was best to delay any escape attempts as long as possible. She didn’t know how much time Clark needed before he recovered from kryptonite exposure, but it certainly would help if Superman were available to save them.

Once the four of them had gotten to the parking lot, they had been thrown into the back of an unmarked van. Lois immediately searched St. James’ coat pockets but had found nothing. Then she sat by the back door working the latch, Clark by her side. But the door was securely locked, there were no exposed wires and she couldn’t even pull the brake lights. At least then they would have had a chance that a passing police vehicle would pull the van over.

Suzette and the other man sat whispering with their heads pressed together like old lovers. They appeared to be making amends; Lois heard him tell Suzette that his name was Jordan. Lois snorted and then dismissed them from her mind. She turned her attention to Clark, hoping for some sign that his powers had begun to return.

She still didn’t know how to feel about learning about his alter-identity. Normally, she would probably be furious and then irate and then enraged followed by embarrassed tinged with a good deal of anger. She smiled at that thought, finding the humor in it. Somehow, looking at him now, vulnerable like the rest of them, she couldn’t find it within her to be angry with him.

There were so many questions that she needed answers to that Lois wasn't even certain where to start. She remembered a dozen times when she should have seen the evidence and somehow failed to put the pieces together. There was the time that Superman was missing during the nightfall asteroid and Clark had amnesia. When Clark got his memory back, Superman returned to save the day. She should have thought more about how they both seemed to “recover” at about the same time. Images of many more similar memories flashed through her head almost too fast to count.

To be fair to herself, Lois had always known that Clark was hiding something, and she had grown tired of the excuses he used to cover it. With so much practice he should have gotten better at explaining a sudden pressing need to leave, but his inability to lie was a part of his charm.

How had she never noticed that Superman and Clark, supposedly such great friends, were never together at the same time? She should have realized why Clark could contact Superman so easily. Duh! Even when he told her the truth, she hadn’t believed him.

Who was the man who spent a good part of each day claiming to be her partner Clark Kent?

Lois looked at him, his heart in his eyes as he watched her assess him, and she only saw the person that she was falling in love with. Clark Kent. He had never intentionally lied to her; she just had failed to see the truth.

Lois didn’t know if she was being magnanimous about this discovery because there was a very real chance they were about to die; all she really knew was that she wanted a chance to live so that she could show this man how much he really meant to her. Then she could have the luxury of setting the record straight on a few things.

“How do you feel? Do you know how long it might take for you to be at . . . full strength?” Lois asked him, her voice lowered.

“I don’t know. I’ve never been exposed to kryptonite that many times in such a short span of time. The pain is gone, but my powers aren’t back yet.” Clark said this with such guilt in his voice that Lois hugged him briefly. She glanced at the other couple in the van and saw that they were still wrapped up in each other.

She pushed herself flush against him, putting her lips so close to Clark’s ear that they brushed against his skin as she spoke, “How do you know that your powers aren’t back yet?”

Clark felt warmth flood his body as Lois leaned closer and he shifted uncomfortably, desire flooding through him at the contact. “I can’t hear your heartbeat and I can’t see past the walls of the van, so unless they’re lined in lead, which I wouldn’t put past Luthor, I’m not up to full speed.” He wondered if Lois could hear the breathless quality to his voice. This was not the time or place to get distracted by her scent or the feel of her pressed against him.

Lois noticed Clark’s discomfort and the seed of an idea began to grow. She shifted her body so that she was straddling him and took his hand to place it on her chest. “Here, let me help. Can you hear my heart now?”

The blood rushed to Clark’s head as Lois smiled in that knowing way that made him wonder what she was up to. He was sure that his face was flushed with a mixture of embarrassment and excitement. His hand curved reflexively and he could feel the beating of her heart. . The softness of her breast beneath his hand made him ache for something more, but not like this. Not now.

He glanced over Lois’ shoulder to see that Jordan and Suzette were oblivious to their presence. They were kissing. “Lois. I don’t think this is the best idea . . .”

Lois leaned toward him. She rocked against him in the process, sending sensations through him, so that he could no longer remember exactly what was so wrong about their current predicament. Her clean feminine scent filled his senses and he couldn’t suppress the gasp when her tongue touched the crest of his ear. She began to nibble down his neck, moving her body in a way that was a supreme torture for Clark.

“Lois.” He hissed, dragging her closer to him and moving her so that he could claim her mouth with his own. He could hear it plainly now, the thundering of their hearts. They beat in unison and he marveled that they were in perfect synchronicity.

Lois no longer had any notion of what her plan had been. Once his lips were on hers, his tongue gliding against her own, her brain simply shut down. The sensation of his body pressed against hers and the undulating motion caused by the movement of the van left her mesmerized. Without even thinking about, she began toying with the buttons on his shirt.

The van shifted suddenly and Clark banged his head hard enough against the metal for the sound to startle them out of their passion. Lois raised her head, meeting Clark’s gaze. His pupils were dialated, his eyes appearing almost black. They could both see the moment that sanity returned in the other.

“Wow.” Clark couldn’t help but saying.

“We haven’t even begun. Is that motivation enough to get us out of here?” Lois asked, eyes twinkling.

“Um. . . .I don’t know. I might need a little more . . . motivation . . . you know, to help me make a decision.” His mouth quirked in a grin.

“You!” She punched his arm lightly, wincing as pain shot up to her elbow. “Can you hear my heartbeat yet?”

Clark’s expression cleared. “You just did that so that it would speed things along?” He asked.

“I’ll take any excuse I can get,” she quipped.

“I think it might have worked.”

“Got to love adrenalin,” she agreed.

He’d have to remember that if he ever got exposed to kryptonite again. Clark didn’t know if it was the increase in blood flow or the hormones kicking in, but he certainly felt a whole lot better in many ways.

The sound of someone clearing their throat got their attention. “I think we’ve stopped,” Jordan said.

“Right,” Lois replied, scrambling off Clark and straightening her clothing. Clark sat up and tried to think of something that would calm his racing hormones.

Siberia. Arctic. The swing of her hair. Tundra. Kryptonite. Those eyes. Icebergs. The feel of her beneath his hands. Rocky Road Ice cream.

Nope. Not going to happen.

He usually had much better control.

Lois bent down to wipe a bit of her lipstick off Clark’s cheek. Suzette giggled and said, “I don’t blame you. You got yourself quite a guy there, but he’s no Superman.” She jabbed Jordan lightly in the ribs.

“Hey,” he replied good-naturedly, “If we get out of this, babe... I still have the suit.”

“I’ll hold you to it.”

Clark groaned and Lois looked at him in concern, but then realized it was because of the other couple’s exchange. She couldn’t help it, she started to laugh. She sobered quickly when they heard a key inserted into the lock of the van.

The door opened and Lois kicked at the man on the other side. Her foot connected with the man’s jaw and Clark jumped out of the van before Lois could follow up her attack.

The man was Lex Luthor. “Lois, my dear. There has been a grave misunderstanding.” He rubbed his jaw, a wry grin on his face. “I should have known that Lois Lane would never give up without a fight.”

“What do you think you’re doing, Lex Luthor?” Lois said vehemently.

“It seems that someone in my employ has been doing some things behind my back without my knowledge or consent,” Lex replied smoothly. “I’m terribly sorry for any discomfort you might have experienced. Please come with me.”

Lois shot Clark a questioning look, but Clark remained non-committal. The four of them followed Lex Luthor to a beach front manor house. Nigel St. James and the nurse from the hospital were no where in sight.

“Where are you taking us, Lex? Where is Nigel St. James?” Lois asked as they followed Luthor past well manicured lawns and up marble steps. Serving staff in uniform scurried out of the way as they entered the plush foyer. Old world elegance with all the modern conveniences surrounded them.

“This is just a misunderstanding that I’m certain that I can clear up for you once we are settled in the parlor. If you will, this way.” Luthor led them to a room with a glorious view of the sea. The house was situated on a cliff top so that it seemed to perch somewhere in the sky itself.

“I bought this place for the view.”

“It’s lovely,” Lois said, walking to the window.

Clark kept his gaze trained on the billionaire, feeling his senses return in force. Without testing it, he wasn’t certain that he was fully recovered. He decided that he would rather wait before acting. There was a large mirror along the opposite wall and with his x-ray vision he could just make out some sort of device on the far side.

“I have many qualities, but patience is not listed very highly.” Lois turned to face Luthor. “I think we deserve an explanation.”

“You’re right, of course. You see, I have always trusted those in my employ to act with the utmost discretion. I had a little problem with a certain man in blue. You might have heard of him. Wears a big S.”

“Superman,” Suzette supplied for him. Lois rolled her eyes.

“That’s right. Superman,” Luthor said as if talking to a child. “Instead of taking care of the original as I had requested, it seems that an overzealous employee thought it would be more believable if our imposter believed that he was the real deal. A sound theory, I suppose, but instead our imposter that was supposed to discredit Superman, or at the very least draw him out like the bait he was, became the target.”

“Sorry,” Suzette said to Jordan.

“So instead of killing Superman, your own imposter got in the way.” Lois said.

“Just so,” Luthor said. “So you see I was hoisted by my own petard, so to speak.”

“Why tell us now?” Lois asked.

Clark moved closer to Lois, ready to protect her even if it meant revealing his abilities to Luthor.

“There’s little harm in setting the record straight, but first let me see what’s keeping the staff. They should have served us some tea at the very least.” Luthor strode quickly out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Lois felt a twinge of alarm at Luthor’s sudden departure and looked around the room for possible escape routes. “Clark!” She called, knowing that he would understand what she wanted him to do.

Suzette and Jordan, seated together on a small love seat against the mirror, looked at her curiously. Before Clark could reply, he heard the sound of a mechanical switch coming from the device on the other side of the mirror. The glass began to glow.

Clark took Lois’ arm, pulling her towards the door. The handle was locked, but it took little effort for Clark to force it open.

He pushed her through the doorway as the light grew brighter. The glare was so strong that it was doubtful that anyone could see that they were no longer inside the room.

“Close your eyes,” Clark whispered fiercely, closing the door behind them. He could hear a monotonous, female voice saying “There was no imposter. There was no attempt on Superman’s life; nothing unusual has happened today. You have never heard of kryptonite. You will forget everything that has happened in the last 24 hours.” Clark put his hands over Lois’ ears and tried to think about what they should do next.

There was another mechanical click and the voice stopped. Clark carefully opened the door and, seeing the light fade, pushed Lois back inside the room.

Lois looked confused and said, “Clark what are we doing here?” She gestured to Suzette and Jordan seated on the far side of the room and continued, “Who are they? How did we get here?”

Luthor walked into the room and smiled magnanimously. “Thank you all for agreeing to meet me here. Now I know, Lois and Clark, that you were hoping for an interview. He gestured to Nigel St. James, who was standing in the doorway. “Nigel, please see that our other friends are shown home.”

Nigel replied, “Very good sir,” and solicitously gestured for Suzette and Jordan to leave. They seemed just as disoriented as Lois as they got up slowly and followed his direction.

“Should we get started?” Luthor asked.

Lois stared at him blankly and Clark felt his heart drop. He hadn’t been fast enough. Whatever Luthor had done seemed to have affected Lois. He had hoped that her earlier failure to recognize their surroundings had been for show, but he now he saw genuine confusion on her face.

Clark’s distress must have been evident, because Luthor gave him an assessing look. Clark shook his head like he was in pain. “I’m sorry; I seem to have a headache.”

Luthor turned his attention back to Lois and said, “Perhaps another time would be better.”

“No. No. Of course not. But I seem to have forgotten my notepad.” Lois almost tripped trying to find her purse. “Where’s my purse? Clark, I don’t have my purse.”

“You left it at home I believe,” Luthor prompted.

“I did. That’s right. I did,” Lois agreed slowly. Clark was unnerved by Lois’ attitude.

Luthor handed her a pad of paper from the table. Wasn’t that just convenient, Clark thought sarcastically. Lois sat there blankly looking at the pad of paper. Luthor said, almost gently, “We were going to talk about the new waterfront development. That’s why I brought you here to my seaside estate.”

“Right. Right,” Lois said, a little lost.

After a lengthy pause, Luthor suggested again, “Why don’t we do this another time?”

“Yes.” Lois gave Lex a perplexed look. “I think that might be a good idea after all.”

Clark wasn’t certain how affected Lois was. Had she really forgotten everything that had happened in the last day? That would mean that their new-found closeness had not happened. And she had no idea that he was Superman. He did not want to go through the last 24 hours again. He closed his eyes and wished that he could grab Luthor and throw him into the darkest, most primitive prison in the country.

When Clark opened his eyes, he swore that he could see a smile in Luthor’s gaze.

<><><>