I was attacked by RL again.
But here is part 11
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“Do you believe him?” Lois asked as she and Clark left the jail with Henderson. Bob had caught up with them and was staying a discrete distance away.
“I believe that he believes it,” Henderson said.
“Is someone after him?” Clark asked.
“Again, he believes it,” Henderson said. “But in this case, yeah, I think someone wants him dead and that someone could well be Luthor’s eldest kid and if it is, he will want you dead as well.”
“Luthor told the people closest to him that he had no living children. That his one child died years ago,” Lois said.
“Well, Jaxon Xavier claimed he was Luthor’s son,” Clark reminded her. “Luthor also told Lois Lane that he’d never been married before. And we know that was a lie.”
“There have been rumors for years, little more than whispers really, that Luthor had a wife and son before he started making a big splash in business,” Henderson told them. “The rumors also had it that she refused to give him a divorce and her death wasn’t exactly an accident.”
“I’m betting the son wasn’t supposed to be in the car when it crashed,” Clark said. “And knowing how Luthor hated being reminded of his failures…”
“Luthor had the poor kid raised by nannies and tutors,” Lois continued the thought.
“That ‘poor kid’ would be closer to my age than yours,” Henderson said. “And assuming our friend inside was telling the truth… I don’t doubt that Luthor Junior inherited both his father’s brilliance and bloodthirstiness. Plus we have no idea what he looks like, what name he’s using, or if he’s even in the country.”
“Our friend said that Junior was scarred,” Clark reminded them.
“And reconstructive surgery can work wonders,” Henderson said.
“Why can’t things ever just be simple with us?” Lois asked.
“You’d die of boredom,” Henderson responded with a chuckle. “God help us if that ever happened. I mean, look at yourselves.”
“Do you believe that we chose to do this to ourselves, like he claimed?” Clark asked.
“Yes,” Henderson replied, looking at Lois. She had the feeling, not for the first time, that Henderson was seeing more than just her exterior. “Or more precisely, she made the choice – whether she took the time to think it out or not – and he just followed along like always,” Henderson continued. “I imagine there were times that being female drove her absolutely crazy. I know there are policewomen who chafe at the gender bias and the ‘old boys club’. And I certainly wouldn’t blame her for wanting to avoid that, especially considering the choices.” He turned to Clark. “If you haven’t experienced it yet, there is still a major bias against believing that a good looking woman can have brains. And that’s despite all the research to the contrary. Plus, I just can’t see Lois Lane as a buxom blonde.”
“So, what do we do?” Lois asked.
“You keep doing what you always do, Lane,” Henderson said. “You keep going after the bad guys in your own way with Kent here by your side. Just watch your backs.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet bag. He opened it to reveal two silver necklaces with sapphire blue pendants. “I didn’t want to give you these until we were finished in there. I’d rather he and the people after him didn’t know… well, certain things. These are protective amulets. Keep them against your skin and recharge them in the sun at least once a week.”
“Protective amulets? Magic?” Lois asked. The whole soul transfer and gender change thing was weird but now Henderson was into magic?
“Lane, a man who could fly lived in this city for three years and was murdered three days ago. Let’s just say that my job requires me to keep a very open mind and some of my investigations have led to places, and conclusions, more suited to the X-Files than Law and Order,” Henderson said. “Close protection agents can only do so much. These amulets may not be able to prevent attacks like Asabi is afraid of, but they should buy you time to escape.”
“So, you do believe him,” Lois said. She slipped the necklace over her head and tucked the gem beneath her shirt. She noted that Clark did the same.
Henderson gave her a sardonic grin. “I just called her ‘Kent’,” he said, nodding in Clark’s direction, “and neither of you thought that was strange. You might want to consider studying up on the subject of psychic self-protection.”
“So Tae Kwon Do isn’t enough?”
Henderson’s expression had returned to its normally serious mien. “There were powerful wards in that bunker – serious protective magic around the two canisters especially, and Lane and Superman were inside the field. We also found a stone like Asabi described with Luthor’s body.”
“Somebody tried to trap Luthor’s soul?” Lois asked. It was a horrifying concept, but it probably couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person.
“That’s what it looks like,” Henderson said. “Now, it could have been Asabi’s doing but I have my doubts. Asabi isn’t evil or psychotic. And the magic used to trap a soul is pure evil.”
“Wonderful,” Lois grumbled. “We’ve moved from garden variety corrupt politicians, embezzlers, and murderers to black magicians wanting us dead. Maybe we should have opted out on this one.”
“And miss the fun?” Henderson asked. The humor was back but there was still a frighteningly serious undercurrent. “That doesn’t sound like the Lane and Kent I know. But you might also want to think about what other reasons the two of you might have had for wanting to switch.”
“You’re sure there was a reason?” Lois insisted.
“Oh yes,” Henderson assured her. “There’s always a reason.”
With that, Henderson walked away.
Lois watched after him. “Clark, do you think we had a reason for switching?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Clark said. “It kind of feels like we probably did. And if Asabi is right, then we’re stuck. Mamba’s the only one with the knowledge to make long-lived clones and the Feds aren’t going to let him clone Superman or Lois Lane so we’d have bodies to switch to. And then there’s the problem of proving who we are. We’ve been lucky that Henderson and Klein and my parents are all so open-minded about the possibility that Lois and Clark aren’t really dead, just involuntarily remodeled. I doubt we’d be so lucky a second time. And I really doubt Henderson would just stand by while we commit suicide to make the switch work assuming we could find a magician to help us do it. I don’t think this soul transfer thing is as simple as Asabi inferred. Not if there’s serious warding magic being used.”
“So you think we should just maintain the status quo?”
“Remember the kick you got out of invading the Metropolis Men’s Club last year?” Clark asked. It was an odd question. Of course she remembered. She remembered being furious at Perry for insisting she couldn’t do it. She hadn’t been pleased with Clark’s reaction either, wanting her to stay on the sidelines when she was the one with the most experience in covert break-ins.
“I thought Perry was going to have a heart attack when he first realized what I’d done,” Lois admitted. The Metropolis Men’s Club had been exactly what the name said – a men’s only club modeled after the old-school men’s clubs of London. A gym, a pool, billiard room, four squash courts, four racquetball courts, a bar, a passable restaurant, and a club president involved in the virtual slavery of illegal immigrants from the Far East. Lois was the one who’d gotten into Harlan Black’s office and got the goods on him.
“But I did get the evidence we needed to take Black down and get Perry’s money back,” Lois added.
“But, one of the things I noticed about you early on,” Clark said softly. “You don’t like restrictions and you worked harder than anyone at the Planet to overcome them, especially gender-based restrictions. And you’ve never liked being dependent on anyone else, even Superman.”
“So I was a man trapped in a woman’s body and didn’t realize it?” Lois challenged. “I was never into women, despite what some people said about me… her.”
“I never said you were,” Clark said. “I’m just thinking out loud here. But what if you being a guy now meets some need now. A need that didn’t exist when you chose who you were going to be before. I’m not making any sense, am I?”
“I think what you’re saying is that being female made Lois Lane who she was,” Lois said. “But I don’t need to be that person now, or maybe I need to be someone else… someone who happens to be male. And since there were only two choices down in that bunker…”
“Or being female was something I needed to be for a while,” Clark suggested.
“You really think so?”
“I don’t know,” Clark said. “But it makes as much sense as anything else. And let’s face it, not much is making sense right now.”
“Maybe we should get back to the hotel,” Lois suggested.
“Mom… Aunt Martha and Uncle Jonathan are probably still packing up Clark’s things,” Clark reminded her.
“Head over there and pick up some cell phones on the way?” Lois suggested.
“Sounds like a plan.”
Getting two phones took surprisingly little time. Bob calling ahead and making the arrangements for the cell phone store manager to be waiting for them didn’t hurt.
Soon the Suburban was parked in front of Clark’s apartment building. Lois recognized another car parked by the building as well.
“Perry’s here,” Clark murmured.
“Oh, great,” Lois muttered. “I so didn’t want to deal with Perry just yet.”
“We have to do it sometime,” Clark reminded her.
Lois led the way to Clark’s apartment. She noted that the police tape was down. With all the witnesses, including video, of Morris opening fire on Lola and Alexa, and with Morris dead, there was no real need to keep the crime scene pristine.
Lois knocked on the door. Jimmy opened it. He looked terrible – like he hadn’t eaten or slept in days. He gave them a tired incurious look before moving aside for Martha.
Martha beckoned Lois and Clark inside. “Um, Perry, Jimmy, this is Alexa and Martin - I mean Lane - Alexander,” she announced. “Friends of Clark’s. Perry White, Clark’s boss and Jimmy Olsen, a friend from the Planet. They’ve been helping us pack Clark’s things.”
Lois looked around the living room. The bookshelves were empty and cardboard boxes were piled in front of them. A quick look into the bedroom with x-ray vision revealed much the same thing. Everything was packed up except the kitchen things.
Perry gave them both an evaluating look. “Alexander? You’re the two the police rescued from Luthor’s bunker.”
“Yeah, that’s us,” Clark said.
“And you’ve been avoiding the press,” Perry added.
“Not really… except for Leo Nunc. Are you looking for an interview?” Lois asked. She smiled cheekily at him. There was something perverse about Perry White asking for an interview and chiding them about avoiding it. Not that he wasn't right, of course. They had been avoiding the press, and not just Nunc.
“It would be nice to have the story of what really happened down there from the only survivors,” Perry said.
“Is Clark’s computer packed up yet?” Lois asked.
“No,” Martha said. “I’ve been using it to check my email. The printer’s still hooked up, too.”
Lois turned back to Perry. “Give us forty-five minutes to write it up.”
Lois and Clark settled themselves at the kitchen table with Clark’s computer and began writing. It felt good to be working, even on something as simple as detailing the events down in the bunker. Clark sat next her, as had been his habit in the newsroom.
It didn’t take as long as Lois had estimated to finish. She wasn't sure if it was due to her having polished the article in her head over the past two days or if she was processing information faster than she had before. Both may have been true. There was also a smoothness and ease to their collaboration that went beyond what she was used to as well. She was making corrections almost before Clark had to say it.
With a flourish, she keyed in the print command and waited for the printer to finish its job. Perry beat her to the printer, pulling the sheets out and skimming them over before she or Clark could check them.
Perry frowned. “You witnessed Luthor kill Kent and dispose of the body?” he asked. He sounded like he didn’t quite believe it.
“That’s what I told the police,” Lois said.
“And we all know his body will never be found,” Clark added.
Perry gave them searching looks then nodded. “So, Luthor completely lost it at the end?”
Lois nodded.
“He really thought he could trade souls with someone else?”
“Apparently,” Lois said. “That’s what he said, at least.”
“He really must have loved Angel Heart,” Perry said. “Thinkin’ all that magic voodoo hocus pocus was real.”
“What makes you so sure it isn’t?” Clark asked.
Perry didn’t answer the question as he read through the article more slowly.
“Who taught you to write?” he asked instead.
“Is there something wrong?” Lois asked. She knew it wasn't some of their best work – no corroboration or background research and no quotes from the investigating officers. But it wasn't bad for what it was either – a straight telling of the events in the bunker from the survivors’ point of view.
“Nothing wrong,” Perry said. “I’m just surprised that someone outside the Planet staff would know our style so well. It reads like the byline should be Lane and Kent, not Alexander and Alexander.”
“So, what would you say if we asked for jobs?” Lois asked.
“One article does not make a portfolio,” Perry said.
“And given the paper’s history with Luthor, you wouldn’t want to hire his heir in any case,” Clark said.
“I never said that,” Perry protested. “It’s just that you don’t have a proven track record. But I certainly wouldn’t turn my nose up at any freelance work you might send my way. But let’s face it, assuming the lawyers don’t grab it all away from you, you two don’t need to work a day in your lives. You certainly don’t have to work in the newspaper business.”
“Maybe we want to work,” Lois suggested. “Maybe this is what we need to do to make up for what Luthor did to you and the Planet.”
“You can’t bring my people back,” Perry said. “You can’t waltz in and wave a magic wand and make it all good. The Kents here have lost their only son. The Lanes have lost a daughter. Two families are burying their murdered children. You can’t make up for that.”
The phone rang in the other room. Lois heard Jonathan pick it up. Ellen Lane was on the line, making arrangements to meet with the Kents at their hotel. Jonathan gave her the room number at the Imperial.
Super hearing could be very convenient at times. And Lois was finding she had more control of it now than she’d had as Ultrawoman.
Jonathan came to the doorway and filled them in on his conversation with Lois’s mother. “Perry, you and Jimmy are welcome to join us,” Jonathan added.
Perry shook his head. “This is a family matter,” he said.
Martha appeared in the doorway. “You know perfectly well that Lois and Clark both considered you and Jimmy as part of their family. I know that Lois thought of you as more than just a mentor. I think your input on what they would have wanted… Please come.”
Perry expression wavered between resolute and undecided.
“Mrs. Kent is right, Mister White,” Lois said. “You and Jimmy probably knew them better than anyone in Metropolis. It just makes sense for you to help plan their funeral… I assume there’ll just be one?”
Martha nodded. “Lois’s parents agreed with us that since the marriage license was signed and there was a ceremony, Lois and Clark were married. So, one funeral, one burial.”
