Pheromone, More Likely: 6/?
by Nan Smith
Previously:
A thought crossed her mind, as it had a couple of times since breakfast. Why hadn't Lex said anything about what was going on in the newsroom? Judging by all the stuff they were hauling out of here, and some of the things that people must have been doing, he had to have seen that something was pretty weird. And why had he dropped by the Planet to remind her of their dinner date, anyway? Usually he called, or had Nigel call. Something wasn't right, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.
"I'm going to show this report to Perry," Clark said. "I think he'll be relieved to see it."
"I'll say," Lois said. She glanced at the copy room door as a particularly loud clatter from the machine drew her attention. "*What* is going on in there?"
"Believe me," Clark said, seriously. "You *don't* want to know."
**********
And now, Part 6:
The edition of the Daily Planet that came out that evening was a little thin on local news, Lois thought. Clark ran out halfway through the afternoon and returned with a short account of a jewelry store holdup, foiled by Superman, and they attended a mayoral speech honoring the city's firefighters shortly thereafter, but nothing more emerged on the situation that had disrupted the newsroom for the past two days.
Wally showed up around one, and spent the rest of the day avoiding her, which wasn't a problem as far as Lois was concerned. Pete buried himself in his box scores, or whatever he did, and pretended that she didn't exist. As a matter of fact, now that she thought about it, conversation in the newsroom seemed to be sharply limited to short exchanges, exclusively related to work. Somewhere late in the day, a man in rumpled clothing and carrying a toolbox emerged from the copy room, and with elaborate casualness, strolled toward the ramp that led to the elevator. Lois watched without appearing to, and some five minutes later, Cat Grant opened the door and followed.
Lois raised her eyebrows and turned back to the article that she was proofreading. After the last forty-eight hours, she wasn't about to say a word.
But her mind was busy. What on Earth could have been the reason for Miranda's stunt? Was it simply that the newsroom had been the site for the publicity shoot, or had there been another, more sinister motive, and if so, what could it be? She picked up the bio on Miranda for the twentieth time, and studied it, hoping for some sort of inspiration, but nothing came to mind. What could possibly have been the woman's motive?
"Jimmy!" she called.
The junior photographer and copy boy appeared beside her desk some seconds later. "You called?"
"Could you do an in-depth background on this Miranda woman? And see what you can find out about her personal life as well as her professional one. Anything might be useful."
Jimmy shrugged. "Sure. I'll get on it as soon as I can."
Which might be a while, Lois thought. Jimmy was trying frantically to catch up on his own tasks, just like everyone else was.
Her phone rang, and she picked it up. "Lois Lane."
"Lois!" It was Lex's voice, sounding warm and charming as he always did when speaking to her. "I was just calling to confirm our dinner date tonight."
"I'm looking forward to it," she said.
"I'm looking forward to it as well. Nigel will pick you up at seven."
"I'll be ready," she said.
Someone spoke in the background and there was a pause. "Until tonight, then," Lex said. "In the meantime, duty calls."
"Of course," she said. "Goodbye, Lex."
"Goodbye, my dear." There was a click at the other end of the line.
Slowly, she hung up.
There was nothing wrong, she told herself. Nothing at all. Lex usually called before a date to be sure that they had their plans straight.
Only, he'd come by yesterday for the very same purpose, or so he'd apparently told her. At least, Clark had said she'd told him that, and it fit with the hazy memories of yesterday. So, why was he checking twice?
Her gaze drifted again to the paper that contained the information on Miranda, and the line of print that informed her that Miranda's work was funded by Luthor Industries.
No, that was silly! Lex funded half the scientists in the city. Chances were that he didn't even know who she was.
But Lex hadn't even seemed to notice how strangely everyone in the newsroom was acting, or if he had, he hadn't mentioned it to her. Of course, she hadn't exactly been acting normally, either, but that was another thing that needed to be explained. If it had been anyone but Lex, she might have thought he had come by for an entirely different purpose.
She frowned at nothing, not liking where her thoughts were taking her. She was aware that Clark didn't like Lex, and the few times he had voiced what she had believed were totally unwarranted suspicions, she had hotly defended the billionaire. But what had happened yesterday did seem a little hard to explain. Clark had wisely been careful not to imply anything, but she knew her partner was wondering. Of course, Clark's suspicions were silly. Lex was a philanthropist, as well as a businessman. He supplied jobs to an enormous work force, not only in Metropolis but around the world as well, and did a great deal of good. Such a man didn't deserve that kind of suspicion.
But, a little voice said, somewhere deep down, Clark is a good man, too, and not a stupid one. He wouldn't harbor such suspicions without some sort of cause.
Oh, pooh! she told herself. Clark is just jealous.
Jealous, maybe, but not petty. The little voice in the back of her mind prodded at her. She managed to ignore it most of the time, particularly when faced with Clark's disapproval of Lex. She always felt that it was a criticism of her, and as such her defensive instincts always kicked in at the slightest hint that he was judging her taste in men. How, after all, could her partner possibly know more about Lex Luthor than she did? It was just as well for Clark that he hadn't said anything.
But there remained, now, just a little tug of doubt. It was probably silly. What possible reason could Clark have other than jealousy to feel the way he did? He'd never explained his feelings to her. Didn't that show that he had nothing solid on which to base his suspicions?
On the other hand, she realized suddenly, she'd never really given him a chance, leaping as she had to Lex's defense. If she was honest with herself, she hadn't bothered to listen on the couple of occasions when he'd tried to speak to her about the subject. She'd cut him off, charged to the attack as always, and Clark had simply shut his mouth, looking stubborn and unconvinced. He hadn't tried to bring up the issue since. It remained the one major source of friction between them.
Lois scowled again, glancing at the elevator. Clark had taken off again a short time ago, and there was still no sign of him. She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was nearly quitting time, and it looked as if she wasn't going to get the chance to talk to him again, today.
Well, tomorrow, she would ask him point blank why he didn't like Lex. Maybe, if she were just a little less defensive, he would tell her why he thought what he did. If there was something besides jealousy behind it, she wanted to know what it was, and if it was really worth worrying about. Maybe Clark didn't approve of Lex for some reason that she would find perfectly silly. His rural upbringing had given him a ridiculously rigid sense of right and wrong, moral and immoral. Maybe he didn't approve of Lex simply for his vast wealth. She'd suspected something of the sort from the beginning. Maybe that was the real reason, after all, but whatever it was, she wanted to know for sure.
And, in the meantime, she would see where things went this evening. If no explanation from Lex was forthcoming, she could casually mention the events in the newsroom, and no doubt he would straighten out the confusion. There was no real reason to suspect anything was less than straightforward. No reason at all, she assured herself. Everything that had happened over the last couple of days was probably making her unnecessarily paranoid. Lex probably had nothing to do with it.
**********
Superman remained sitting on the top of LexTower, trying to make up his mind about a course of action. Judging by what he'd heard, the last two days at the Daily Planet might be the harbinger of much worse to come, and, at least so far, he couldn't prove any of it. Even Superman couldn't make allegations of this level of seriousness without something to back them up. Especially about Lex Luthor.
He had made a point during the day of periodically checking on the whereabouts of Miranda, and had therefore been able to track her when she had gone to see Lex Luthor that afternoon. She had just left, and he watched as she exited the front of the building. Even if he hadn't eavesdropped on the meeting between Luthor and the chemist, just her agitated stride would have told him that she was infuriated.
It had been an enlightening interview, to say the least. It was too bad he hadn't any way of proving what he had overheard. In ordinary circumstances, he'd have gone to Lois and together they would have worked out some way to prove what he now knew to be true, but in this case, it was impossible.
He'd listened as Luthor and Miranda had agreed on a partnership to produce the pheromone-laced perfume, and he'd heard the popping of a champagne cork. And then, the conversation had taken a turn that nearly made his hair stand on end.
"I'm a bit concerned about the temporary nature of the perfume," Luthor's voice had remarked. "Forty-eight hours isn't much time."
"I'm only using a one percent solution," Miranda's voice had replied. "In its purest form, 'Revenge' would cause a total and permanent breakdown of all inhibitions."
"Excellent," Luthor's voice had said. There was the sound of more carbonated liquid being poured.
He'd been so alarmed by the revelation that he'd missed part of the ensuing conversation, but he managed to pull himself together in time to hear the snippet of conversation between them when Miranda had alluded to a relationship they had once shared, and a wish to resume it. Luthor had turned her down, flatly. On some personal level, Clark wondered why some scorned woman hadn't murdered the man long before this, if his treatment of Miranda was any example, but the overriding concern in his mind was the conversation about the effects of the perfume.
Permanent? Why would Luthor want a substance that could have such an effect on people?
Unfortunately, he could think of a lot of reasons. A weapon like that in the hands of someone as amoral as Lex Luthor had the potential for a disaster of epic proportions. What was he going to do?
**********
"It's a lovely dinner, Lex." Lois glanced out the huge picture window in Lex Luthor's study at the lights of Metropolis far below. From this high in the air, the city looked peaceful and serene. On the table between them, two candles burned, and the candlelight gleamed off the surfaces of the crystal and silver table settings.
"I never was one for crowded restaurants," Lex said. "I prefer to eat alone." He smiled at her. "Present company excepted, of course."
Lois smiled and took a bite of salad. So far, Lex hadn't brought up his visit to the newsroom the day before. She debated with herself how to introduce the subject. She couldn't just blurt it out, but perhaps she could bring the conversation around to it ...
Lex was staring at her, his expression curiously intense. She looked back at him, a little puzzled. "What is it, Lex? Are you feeling all right?"
He seemed to shake himself. "Yes, of course. I'm never sick. I just ..." He hesitated, gazing at her in a way that seemed somehow familiar. "Your eyes. I don't think I ever noticed your eyes before. How rich; how deep. Like pools of light. A man could drown in those pools."
Lois stared at him, an uneasy feeling creeping through her.
"Huh. Thank you," she said, a little warily.
Lex sat back, looking slightly confused. After a second he picked up the wine bottle and filled his glass.
Lois took a sip of her wine. She decided that she would converse with Lex and gradually steer the topic around to the events at the Planet as if it were ordinary dinner conversation. Lex seemed slightly distracted, frowning a little, as if puzzled at his own behavior.
"Things have been utterly crazy at the Planet," she began. "You wouldn't believe ..."
Lex abruptly set the wine bottle on the table and reached out, taking one of her hands in his. "Your hands."
Lois glanced quickly down at her hands. They looked fine to her, but Lex was regarding the one he held almost worshipfully.
"What's wrong with my hands?" Lois asked.
"They're so graceful," Lex said. "So delicate. Like fine porcelain."
There was a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Lex might have a different approach, but his attitude was eerily like Pete's ... and Wally's. "'Imprison her soft hands and let her rave ... and feed deep, deep upon her peerless eyes ...'," he quoted.
Lois swallowed, trying to quiet the butterflies that seemed to have suddenly inhabited her stomach. This wasn't Lex's normal, restrained behavior; that was sure. It was as if the same madness that had infected the newsroom had descended on him. But if it had, that meant he had somehow encountered the pheromone. And that meant he had probably come in contact with Miranda, since Lois doubted that the woman was going to willingly put her perfume under the control of anyone else.
"You're acting very strange tonight, Lex," she said. A faint hope that he had had enough alcohol to release his inhibitions crossed her mind. "How many glasses of wine did you have before I came?"
Lex blinked. "None. I never drink alone and I'm never drunk. I'm always in ..." he drew a deep breath, "... control." He leaned forward, his gaze intent on her face. "You ... are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen."
Lois stared at him in shock, trying desperately to rearrange her thoughts. Lex had almost certainly been sprayed with the perfume. He'd somehow personally met Miranda. Did he know about her perfume, or was he simply a victim? And why would the woman do such a thing? What did Miranda think she was doing?
What she needed was a few minutes to think without the distraction of Lex's adoring gaze, she thought.
"Um ... Lex, I'd like to powder my nose," she said, laying her napkin on the table. "I'll be back in just a minute."
He smiled at her, the entranced look on his face growing more intense. "Of course, my dear." He sat back, and she was aware of his eyes fastened on her as she made her way to the restroom.
Once there, she leaned back against the wall, trying to decide how to handle this unexpected development. The whole situation seemed to be spiraling completely off into the highly improbable. Research chemists didn't get in to speak with Lex Luthor without a very good reason, not even one as prominent as Miranda. Just because his company funded her work didn't mean she could see him any time she wanted, unless there was a very good reason. Could Lex know about the pheromone-spiked perfume? But then, why had he ended up sprayed with it? Surely he wouldn't knowingly allow himself to be dosed with it.
And, speaking of that, what should she do now? She couldn't just leave him without trying to help, but she was unsure what to do. If Lex was as obsessed with her as Wally and Pete had been, things could get dicey. She didn't think he'd be as crude as either other man, but she had no wish to fend off his advances for half the night. It would be embarrassing for both of them: for her both now and at her next meeting with him, and for Lex, after the stuff wore off. Besides, if she deserted him, now, what would happen? Clark had said that, under the influence of the pheromone, Amanda Nelson had tried to kill herself when the object of her affections rejected her. She didn't think that Lex was likely to do something like that, but the stuff did seem to promote irresponsible behavior. She couldn't be sure of anything where it was concerned.
A light knock on the door interrupted her thoughts and for a moment she was afraid that Lex had followed her.
"Miss Lane?" It was the voice of Nigel St. John. "Is everything all right?"
Slowly, she opened the door, pasting a smile on her face. "Yes, I'm fine. It's a wonderful dinner."
"I will convey your compliments to Andre, Miss Lane," Nigel said, at his most expressionless. "Is there anything that you need?"
"No," Lois said, unaccountably uncomfortable in the butler's presence. He seemed to be watching her closely. "I have a slight headache and I didn't want it to spoil the evening, so I needed to take a couple of aspirin."
"Ah, I see." The butler smiled slightly. "My apologies for intruding."
"No problem." She let him gesture her ahead of him back to the table and took her chair again. Lex was watching her with the same besotted expression she had seen on Pete's face, and that she very much feared that Clark had seen on hers as well. What had the report said? There had to be some physical attraction present for the pheromone to work, so Lex was obviously genuinely attracted to her. It was flattering; there was no question of that, but to her surprise, no great surge of happiness accompanied it. She liked Lex, of course, but the knowledge that the third wealthiest man in the world found her to his taste wasn't the thrill she might have expected it to be. The sensation she was most aware of was the desire to get out of here as quickly as possible.
Quickly, she picked up her fork and speared a chunk of lettuce. Lex picked up his wineglass and raised it to her. "To the loveliest woman I have ever known," he said, and drank. Lois lowered her eyes modestly, wondering frantically how to cut the evening short. For the moment, she decided, she would have to make the best of it, until she could make her excuses in a plausible manner. Besides, she didn't want him to think she was rejecting him. As much as she doubted that he would do anything drastic, she couldn't be sure, but telling Nigel the truth wasn't an option, either. Not yet. Not until she discovered how Lex had received his dose of the pheromone. It wasn't that she was really suspicious of him, but it was a question that needed answering. Once she knew what the connection was between Miranda and Lex, she could explain what had happened, and maybe Lex would be able to supply her information that would help to prove what the woman had done.
A slender, dark man appeared and removed the wineglasses and salad plates. A moment later, Nigel placed dishes bearing Cornish game hens stuffed with wild rice and mushrooms in front of them. Another servant presented Lex with a bottle of some fine, white wine to go with the main dish and replaced the used wineglasses with fresh ones. Nigel poured a sample for Lex to taste, and he solemnly approved the selection, all the while regarding her with that enraptured expression.
The butler poured wine for both of them and then departed. Lois took a bite of the excellent food, glancing at the panorama of the lighted city below them. "Your chef is wonderful, Lex."
He nodded. "Andre has been with me for ten years." He swallowed half a glassful of wine without seeming to notice, his eyes still fixed on her face. "Why haven't I noticed before how incredibly beautiful you are? It's as if I've been blind, and now I really see you for the first time ..."
Lois sighed inaudibly. It was going to be a long evening.
**********
(tbc)
