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From Part 29:Time to take aggressive action. Lois bent from the waist, then twisted her body and kicked out behind, aiming for her assailant’s vulnerable spots. But he was martial arts-trained too, because he took evasive action and in seconds had her flat on her front on the floor, his knee pressed against her lower spine and one arm twisted painfully behind her back.
“Who are you?” she demanded. “What do you want?”
“Oh, you do disappoint me, Ms Lane. I would have thought that an award-winning investigative reporter like you would have already worked all of that out. I suppose you’re just not as good as you think you are,” the man behind her, pinning her to the floor, drawled.
And she knew that voice.
Lex Luthor was out of prison somehow, and he’d come looking for revenge.
And he was currently holding a gun to her head.
**********
Now read on...Freedom.
That was what flying in the blue and red suit, however garish, felt like to Clark. For all his life, at least since he’d been able to fly, he’d had to keep to the shadows and make sure that no-one ever guessed that there was such a thing as a flying man.
Now, he could soar openly through the skies.
At least, he could if he could get over the reticence he was still feeling at being seen in public in this superhero persona.
The disguise had worked, of course - worked extremely well. Far better than his wildest expectations. He’d been welcomed. His skills had been appreciated - in fact, demanded. He’d been accepted.
Acceptance.
Something all his life he thought he’d be denied - at least, denied for his true self, as opposed to the normal human he pretended to be. And yet he’d not only been accepted, but wanted. Needed.
And it felt good.
Life was good.
He flew in a wide circle around the city, keeping both eyes and ears open for signs of problems below. The Luthor Freeway, he noticed, was open for traffic again; hard to imagine that a mere three hours or so ago it had been the scene of appalling carnage. Well, not that bad really, he supposed. Three people had been killed which, for a pile-up of that size, was pretty low. Of course, more would have died if he hadn’t been able to use his abilities to help; of that he was sure. The woman in the Mustang. Probably little Jenny, trapped in the SUV. And the tanker would have exploded, killing most of those in its immediate vicinity and injuring many others, leaving them with painful burns.
He’d saved lives. People were still walking around - or would be once they’d been discharged from the hospital - because of him.
It wasn’t, of course, the first time he’d saved lives, and of course he’d saved Lois’s life only the previous night. But this was the first time he’d done it visibly, in full view of anyone who cared to look. This was the first time he’d taken credit - not that he wanted the credit, but it made such a difference not having to run away afterwards to the sound of people asking each other “What
was that?”.
And no-one had run screaming from him, despite what he could do. Despite even his admission - which several bystanders had heard - that he might be from another planet.
Best of all, no-one had asked him who he really was underneath the costume.
Of course, he hadn’t yet run into anyone who knew him as Clark Kent. That would be the real test: could he pull off his other persona in front of someone he knew? But he’d face that when he came to it - and anyway, he’d found, oddly enough, that assuming a different personality when in the costume came very easily. Though Lois would no doubt tell him that, far from assuming a different personality, he was actually just discovering a side of himself he’d always suppressed - giving his true nature the freedom to exist.
As for the disguise, he could probably get away with it. As Lois had said several times, who would expect to see Clark Kent in a Spandex suit and performing all sorts of amazing feats?
No-one.
He smiled at that thought. He was pretty sure that he’d be safe.
Life was very good right now. Not only could he use his abilities openly, to help people, in the way he’d always longed to, but the most wonderful woman in the world knew all about him and wanted him anyway. Okay, Lois hadn’t mentioned the L-word yet - but then, neither had he. But he knew that she cared. Heck, she hadn’t wanted him to leave just now! If that wasn’t a sign of how she felt about him, nothing was.
He circled around and made his way towards Hewitt Dock. A couple of hours keeping watch should about do it for tonight, and then he could go back to Lois’s for that promised coffee.
Or maybe they’d both just forget about the coffee... He could think of several far more interesting ways to spend the time.
*********
Think, Lois, think!She had to stay Luthor’s hand somehow. Distract him from his intention - if he did intend to kill her immediately. She could do nothing with his gun held to the back of her head. He’d have the trigger pulled in a fraction of a second, and she’d be dead moments later.
Delay him. Distract him. That was what she had to do.
Think, Lois!Clark. She needed Clark.
Oh, Clark, why couldn’t you have come in? Even for just one minute?Clark. Her secret weapon. Luthor didn’t know anything about Superman, did he? All she had to do was call him.
But if she called him now, she’d be dead before she’d even got Superman’s name out.
Clark had said he’d come back...
Maybe... maybe, if she could stall Luthor for long enough, she could keep herself alive until Clark got back. It was a long shot, but it was worth it...
Anything was worth it when she was lying on the floor of her apartment with the cold steel of a gun pressed against the back of her head!
Distract him!“You do disappoint me, Ms Lane,” Luthor drawled from behind her, his knee pressing even more painfully into her lumbar region. “No tears? No pleas for mercy? But then, I shouldn’t have expected that from the intrepid Lois Lane. I did expect some spunk, though. You know - empty threats and so forth.” He laughed. “But then, you’re just some pathetic little reporter, after all. Once you don’t have the upper hand, you’re nothing. I can barely understand why I bothered.”
Oh, this was better. He was beginning to lose his focus. He wanted to savour his victory before actually claiming it.
Fool! Didn’t he know how easily hubris came before a fall?
“Maybe I am, Luthor,” Lois replied, the words coming in gasps due to the pressure on her rib-cage. “But if I am, doesn’t the fact that I’m the one who brought you down make you look even worse?”
“Just tell me one thing,” Luthor barked, and she could feel spittle on the back of her neck as he spoke. “How did you and Kent get out of that warehouse?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Lois threw back at him.
“Yes, I would.” His tone was dangerous. The pressure on her back increased, and the gun-barrel pressed harder against her head.
Making her tone as casual as she could in the circumstances, Lois said, “Okay. I’ll tell you. As long as you tell me how you got out of jail.”
There was a pause. Then, after a moment, Luthor said, “That’s a fair exchange. All right. Go ahead.”
“You first,” Lois said. “And take that gun away from my head. It makes me nervous.”
Luthor laughed. “That sounds like something I’d want to happen, Ms Lane. Do you really think I’m stupid enough to give you another chance to attack me?”
“Keep me covered and I won’t be able to,” she pointed out. “I’d just like to be able to breathe.”
He stood up abruptly, the pressure on her back disappearing. The gun was taken away in the same moment. Lois heaved several gulping breaths and waited for instructions.
“Turn over,” he barked. “You can sit up, but keep your hands and feet where I can see them. And if you move a muscle, you’ll be dead.”
“You’re going to kill me anyway, aren’t you?” Lois challenged him, moving very slowly into a sitting position - not only because she was in some pain still from the battering her spine and upper arm had taken, but because she was stalling in the vain hope that Clark might arrive soon. He’d promised to come over, after all...
He’d promised. Clark would always keep his promises. Wouldn’t he? He wasn’t like all the other men she’d known, to whom promises were mere words. Meaningless words.
Clark would come.
Hurry, Clark!“Then why don’t you just shoot now?” she asked. “Oh, of course...” she added, as if the idea had only just occurred to her.
“What?” he snapped from the seated position he’d taken up on one of her couches.
“You can’t abide not knowing how we escaped. If you kill me now, you’ll never know, will you?”
He gave her a look of loathing, then waved the gun in her direction. “Go on. Start talking.”
“Oh, no,” Lois said airily, though her heart was thumping. “You first. After all, anticipation should be savoured, shouldn’t it? I’m sure I remember you saying that in a magazine interview some time ago. Time, was it? Or maybe it was The Economist. Or... no, I think it was GQ, wasn’t it? Something frivolous like that, anyway. Maybe it was Playgirl.”
She knew that she was angering him, but so much the better. The angrier he got, the less in control he’d be. Of course, she was well aware that she was also running the risk that he’d just lose his temper completely and shoot her out of fury. But, from what she knew of Lex Luthor, she was pretty sure that he wouldn’t. He was used to getting his own way. He hated being thwarted. And the fact that she and Clark had escaped alive from what should have been a death-trap was eating away at him. The injury that had done to his pride had been exacerbated by the fact that the two of them had also organised his arrest.
No, he wouldn’t kill her until he found out what he wanted to know.
“Well, Lex?” she enquired sweetly, deliberately using his first name, knowing that it would enrage him. “Are you going to start?”
He glared at her. “I was released on bail.”
Lois almost felt her jaw dropping. “You were *what*? I don’t believe it! With what you were charged with, there’s no way any judge in the state would have let you out on bail!”
He shrugged casually, his expression smug. “It’s not difficult when you have the right connections.”
“Connections?” Oh, of course, Lois thought cynically, the penny dropping. “You mean a judge on your payroll,” she said flatly.
“As I said, it helps to have the right connections. My lawyer has been working on it all day, and bail was agreed this evening.”
“There was nothing about it on the news,” Lois pointed out.
“The hearing was in camera,” Luthor said with another shrug. “I doubt if even that dedicated Mr Plod of yours knows about it yet.” He waved his gun at her. “Now it’s your turn. Get a move on!”
Okay, Lois told herself.
Think. Stall. Find a way to...“You want to know how we escaped from that warehouse before it exploded?” she enquired.
“You know I do. Stop delaying!”
She couldn’t give Clark’s secret away, of course. She needed a story, something reasonably convincing, just to allow her another couple of minutes’ breathing-space. Just until Clark came to rescue her.
Wait a minute... Why was she depending on a man to come and rescue her anyway? she suddenly thought indignantly. This was far from the first time that she’d faced down a gunman determined to kill her. And she’d always managed to get away before. Why should this time be any different?
You never faced Lex Luthor before.He was just another angry crook with a gun, she told herself fiercely. And she was smarter than him. She could get the better of him. All she needed was to get him to put that gun down, and then she could take him...
Some chance, Lois. He’s not going to let go of it.“Get on with it!” Luthor barked suddenly. “Don’t think I’ll wait all night. I’m not that desperate to know how you escaped. What was it? Kent prove himself to be Mr Universe or something and break the chains with his bare hands?” he scoffed. “I doubt it somehow. I could almost see you doing it, though - don’t they call you Mad Dog Lane?” he added scornfully.
If only he knew how close he was to the truth, Lois mused in dark amusement.
And then the thought struck her.
The truth!
Or, at least, a version of it...
“Actually, no,” she drawled. “I save my metal-chewing for when there’s an R in the month. No,” she added. “We just yelled,
Help!! Superman!” She screamed the words, hoping desperately that Clark would hear her.
Luthor stared at her in outright disbelief. “Do you think I was born yesterday? Who the hell is Superman?”
Lois met his stare, her eyes wide. “You’ve never heard of Superman?”
He waved the gun at her again. “You’re trying to take me for a fool. It won’t work. Have you forgotten that I’ve been running multi-billion-dollar corporations for years? No-one puts one over on me.”
“Really? Then they clearly haven’t tried hard enough,” Lois retorted, but at the same time she was muttering to herself, over and over,
Clark! Where are you? Help! Please help...“Superman is...” she began, stalling for time again and alarmed at the deliberate way the gun was now being aimed at her. “He is... well, he’s just - ” She took a deep breath and yelled at the top of her voice, “
SUPERMAN!!!”
Clark, please hear... please hear! Clark! I need you, Clark...“It’s a mistake to mess with me, Ms Lane,” Luthor said, his voice cold steel, just like the gun he was aiming steadily at her. “Say your last goodbyes.”
Lois stifled a whimper. This was it; he was really going to kill her.
Scenes from her life began to flash before her eyes. Most of all Clark; walking with Clark, flying with him, kissing him... falling in love with him.
It was just
bloody Murphy’s Law, wasn’t it? No sooner had she finally found a man she could trust, a man who clearly thought she was wonderful and who, she could tell, wanted to be with her every bit as much as she wanted to be with him - no sooner had she found the one man she
loved - then some
creep of an egotistical, arrogant, lower-than-pocket-lint criminal wanted to take it all away from her.
Clark, I love you... Please, help me!And, as her lips formed the word ‘Superman’ once more, Luthor pulled back the safety-catch, and his fingers began to squeeze the trigger.
*********
....tbc
