Clark felt his world turning upside down. A strange pain was cutting in his head like a knife, making him nauseated. It wasn’t kryptonite. The pain was located in his head. With kryptonite he had never felt so dizzy. He couldn’t focus his vision anymore. Metropolis and the interior of the penthouse were moving in circles. Where was he? What was up and what was down?
What kind of horrible weapon is Luthor using against Clark?
“Don’t come closer, Lois, or I’ll push him over,” Luthor yelled into the night.
Lois stopped dead. “No,” she whispered in shock. Then she became louder and shouted again. “*No*!”
“*Yes*” Lex said with an evil grin on his face. He pushed Clark over the edge but still held his hands.
Lois’ eyes grew wide with fear. Clark was hanging in the air, and all that kept him from falling were the hands of the most evil man on the planet. Lois felt her stomach heave.
“Lex!” she screamed. “You can’t do that!” He couldn’t be that bad, could he?
Oh yes, Lois. You have no idea.
“I can do that, my dear,” Lex said softly and then his voice became bold. “And I most definitely will if you don’t marry me. I’d vote for a quick decision. I can’t hold him any longer. And screaming for Superman won’t be the solution, Lois. I can make him unable to save your darling one. I have kryptonite. So Lois: his life? Or your freedom? What is the greater value to you?”
Well, when faced with such a choice, Lois is going to give herself to Luthor. But that won't happen if Clark has any say in the matter:
“You’re so evil, Luthor.” Clark’s weak voice interrupted her thoughts and stopped her from agreeing to his second *proposal*. “Do you honestly think that I would make her give up her life for me? I’d rather die than to be the cause of her pain. Lois, run away!” It was the last thing she heard Clark say.
And Clark isn't going to give Lois a choice:
Suddenly Luthor’s hands were empty - Clark had wrenched himself loose and was falling a thousand feet down to the streets of Metropolis.
Well, in spite of what affected him, we all hope that Clark remains moderately invulnerable. Perhaps he can fly again, if he only can get away from Luthor.
Lex had wanted to turn Clark Kent into a loyal friend, but he had failed. Clark Kent decided that he would rather die than allow Lex to take control of his life.
Interesting. Luthor used a weapon that was supposed to control Clark's mind.
I wonder. Had Luthor used something slightly similar on Lois to make her so trustful of him?
As was the plan, Mrs. Cox turned on the sound pistol making Clark Kent stagger and fall.
Mrs. Cox had created the weapon. Well, that explains how it could affect Clark, since she knew he was Superman.
He was supposed to lose his balance and to fall over the balustrade. It should have looked like an accident, and the great hero Lex would have grabbed poor Mr. Kent and kept him from dying. Lex had wanted to be his saviour. Then Clark Kent would have owed him his life, and Lois would have been convinced that Lex was a good guy.
Hmmm. It's hard to understand how Lex could believe that Lois and Clark would regard him as a good guy, seeing it was him who pushed Clark over the balustrade in the first place. And considering how he had threatened both Lois and Clark and tried to force Lois to marry him!
Lois faints, but wakes up - though without opening her eyes - to utter misery and self-recrimination. But then something happens....
Suddenly someone was stroking her arms and then patting them softly. Who was patting her arm? Even though it seemed impossible, could it be Clark? She desperately hoped that it was Clark. She hoped that the seconds had passed slow enough for Superman to be able to save him and bring him to her. But what if it wasn’t Clark? What if she opened her eyes and stared into the face of another person?
Yes, what if, Lois? Who is that person stroking your arm?
Oh please, let it be Clark....
Opening her eyes might offer her the small chance to see those wonderful brown eyes again. She might get a glimpse at his boyish and charming smile. She would be able to touch his lips again, first with the tip of her finger and then with her lips. She would feel his silky tongue again, she would taste him. She would taste the wonderful mixture of chocolate and cream that had made her melt in his arms. Never had a kiss made her so hungry, and never had anything satisfied her need so much. With him she had felt capable of living without chocolate. No danger would ever be able to scare her. She had felt the truth of Archimedes words: Give me one firm place on which to stand and I will move the earth. Even that had felt possible with Clark.
How much do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
Lois swallowed, gathered all her courage and opened her eyes.
* * *
But you didn't tell us if it was Clark!!
Meanwhile, Lex is going to "win" over Clark in his own way:
But Clark Kent had left Luthor unable to win the battle. In the very moment that Lois had passed out, exhausted and desperate from her unavailing cries for Superman, Inspector Henderson, Perry White, Jimmy Olsen and several other people had stormed in. They hadn’t gotten hold of him though because Lex Luthor was invincible. Maybe not as invincible as Clark Kent had been, but he wouldn’t go to prison. And after all, who said that he wouldn’t meet his arch-enemy in the afterlife? They could fight their never-ending battle there.
Lex Luthor ran to the balcony and jumped over the edge. He laughed as he was falling down into the empty space beneath him. Nothing was going to stop him now!
Talk about being an utter maniac!
Well, interesting, Barbara, and if Lex has used a mind-controlling weapon on Lois, that would explain her utter trust in him.
However, this story (as well as a few others I have read at this site) leaves me wondering: How much more does the American society value a man's right to marriage over a woman's right to her freedom? There have been a few stories here where Lois has been married to Luthor, and even though she has wanted a divorce, she hasn't been able to get one without Lex's consent. Not even when Lex has tried to kill her! In this story, Lex was presumptuous enough to claim that since Lois had gotten engaged to him, she had irrevocably bound herself to him and he could prevent her from ever leaving. This is so strange to me. I'm being reminded of countries and cultures where young women are given away in marriage whether they themselves want it or not.
And by the way, there is another kind of "marriage-genre" in LNC fanfic that leaves me equally baffled. It's those stories where Lois actually goes through with her marriage to Luthor
even though she realizes that she doesn't want him, and that she wants to marry Clark instead. Even so, she goes through with her marriage to Luthor,
simply because she feels that she has made a commitment to him when she accepted his proposal, and then she can't back out. And I'm just flabbergasted.
So I ask again: How sacred is a man's right to marriage in America? And how legally unimportant is a woman's right to her freedom?
Hmmm. Let's get back to your story, Barbara. I'm looking forward to the conclusion of it, which I hope will bring with it a lot of WAFF.
Ann
