Halloween: 2/?
by Nan Smith
"Darling, wake up." The voice was one that she almost recognized. Lois opened her eyes to a raging headache. There was a wet cloth on her forehead, and she was lying in bed in a luxurious room that looked vaguely familiar. The bright light in her eyes made her close them again with a wince.
"Turn down the light," the voice said. "Darling, are you all right? What happened?"
Slowly, Lois opened one eye, but the brilliant light had faded to a soft, rosy glow. She opened the other one and turned her head to see who was speaking.
Lex Luthor was sitting in an armchair beside the bed, a concerned expression on his face, and behind him a woman in the uniform of a nurse hovered nervously. Lois closed her eyes again with a faint moan. Somehow she must have fallen and hit her head. She was having hallucinations. It was the only explanation.
"Lie still," Luthor's voice said gently. "Gretchen says you have a mild concussion. This is the result of your refusing an escort. Your independent ways are a constant source of concern to me, you know."
A pair of competent hands removed the wet cloth and Lois heard a sloshing of water. The cloth was replaced by another one. She lay still with her eyes closed, listening to Lex Luthor's voice and trying to figure out what was going on. She had to be dreaming, but until now she never remembered feeling this kind of throbbing headache in a dream. She certainly didn't remember the feel of water trickling down her forehead, or recall the scent of lavender that wafted from the sheets, or the smell of the expensive cologne that Lex always wore.
Lex's murmuring voice ceased and she felt his hand caress her cheek. "I imagine your head is throbbing," he said. "I'll let you alone to rest. Gretchen says giving you something for pain isn't a wise idea, or I would have insisted that it be done. Rest, my dear. We'll talk when you feel better."
"Thank you," she whispered, grateful that his voice had stopped once again. Even the sound made painful sparks shoot through the darkness in front of her closed eyes. She heard the faint tread of feet on thick carpet, and then a door opened and closed.
"Mrs. Luthor?" The voice of the nurse broke the silence. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"No," she whispered. It had to be a dream, she thought. A nightmare worthy of Halloween. It was the only explanation. When she woke up, things would be all right, Clark would be here and together they could laugh about her weird dream.
But something about the situation kept her quiet. Something about all this was too chillingly solid. If this was a dream it was the most realistic one that she had ever had. What on Earth was going on here?
**********
She slept restlessly, with the nurse awakening her every hour, and as a result when morning came, she felt as if she had had no rest at all. Eventually, the nurse disappeared and Lois fell into a deeper sleep.
When she woke again the room was still dark, which was understandable once she realized that thick curtains had been pulled across a very large window. Wherever she was, she certainly wasn't in the bed in her apartment. Fumbling in the thick darkness, she found a lamp and switched it on.
When her eyes had adjusted to the light, she looked around in shock, and then a sense of déjà vu mixed with growing horror. She knew this room. It was the room that she and Lex Luthor had planned together in the Lex Tower penthouse -
just before the disastrous wedding that had culminated in Lex throwing
himself from the balcony. This was utterly impossible. The penthouse of Lex Tower had been closed up while the various details of Lex's estate were thrashed out. The break-up of the Luthor business empire was still in progress, but recently it had been announced that William B. Caldwell, the business magnate and multimillionaire, had purchased the penthouse for a fabulous sum.
She closed her eyes and opened them again, looking around in the faint hope that the scene would have changed, but it hadn't. She was in the bedroom that she and Lex would have shared if she had not drawn back at the last instant, if Perry, Jimmy and Jack hadn't interrupted her wedding. What the consequences to her might have been if they had not, after she had refused to say "I do", was a question she had always wondered about. Lex had always appeared to love her, but now she knew that Lex Luthor was a sociopath, a monster in a handsome body, who was capable of and guilty of unspeakable evil.
What, her mind repeated like a stuck recording, was going on here? Could she still be dreaming? If so, it was the most substantial dream she had ever had. Slowly, she slid her feet to the floor. A satin dressing gown lay neatly folded at the foot of the bed, and two fuzzy bedroom slippers were placed on the thick carpet, slippers made out of chinchilla fur. She slid her feet into them and made her way to the curtained windows. Almost automatically, she located the switch that opened the curtains and pushed it, and watched in a bemused way as they slid silently open.
Beyond the window was a wide balcony, and below that she could see the city of Metropolis spread out below her. She knew this view. She was definitely in Lex Tower, all right.
If she had not been warned by that very painful awakening the night before, she thought, she might have charged out in her typical fashion and demanded to know what was going on. She'd never thought she could be grateful to a headache, but this time she was. It had probably saved her from a fatal error. If she was dreaming, it was the clearest, most detailed dream she had ever had, and if she wasn't -- well, it was better to keep quiet until she figured out what was really going on.
Cautiously, she felt the back of her head and winced as she discovered that it was extremely sore. She certainly hadn't dreamed that part, unless she was dreaming about imagined pain.
So what had happened? She had been leaving the Halloween Ball, and something had hit her. And she had awakened here. Wherever here was.
Well, whatever was happening, it was evident that Lex, if that had really been him last night, thought that she was his wife. What would he think if she started claiming not to remember marrying him; in fact remembered him jumping from his office balcony to his death on the pavement a hundred-plus stories below? He was bound to think she was seriously crazy, or at the very least that it wasn't safe for her to be wandering around alone. And if she was going to figure this thing out, assuming that it was possible, she suspected she was going to need some time by herself. She had better not inform him of his error until she had had a little time to scope out the lay of the land. It seemed like the most sensible thing that she could do. If she were truly dreaming, then it wouldn't matter, but if by some crazy chance all this was real, it was smarter not to let on to the people around her that she wasn't who they thought she was. Unless she somehow really was, and everything that she remembered was the dream.
But that couldn't be, could it?
Well, the first thing to do was to find out what day it was and what the situation was out there in Metropolis. And if Clark was still around. She recalled him telling her that Superman had claimed Lex had intended to kill him. If Lex was alive, was Clark dead? Was Superman still here or had Lex finally managed to drive him away? A little quiver of panic began to beat in tune with the tiny throb of pain that remained from last night's adventure and she forced it back. She mustn't act out of fear. She had to keep calm. Taking a deep breath, she turned and made her way to the enormous closet that had been intended to hold her clothing. She opened it and stared at the multitude of outfits, all for her. There was more clothing here than she could wear in a lifetime, she thought, but after some consideration she chose a neat pantsuit. Better that than a dress, she thought. Who knew how much activity she was going to have to engage in, after all? There was a good chance that Lex would have bodyguards following her if she chose to go out today; it was a little surprising that she hadn't been followed last night -- but then maybe she had been. Besides, last night she hadn't been here.
She shook her head carefully, mindful of the borderline pain she still felt from the blow on the head that had knocked her out. How on Earth was she supposed to explain the contradictions to herself? Her memories of the last year were of working at the rebuilt Daily Planet beside Clark and Jimmy Olsen, with Perry in charge. If she wasn't completely crazy, and she wasn't dreaming, what had happened?
She laid out her clothing on the bed and went into the enormous bathroom to shower. Hopefully none of the maids would show up until she was finished getting dressed. She turned on the water and adjusted the temperature, still thinking. All right, the situation was obviously impossible on the face of it, but she was going to have to act as if it were real until she found out what was actually going on.
Another thought occurred to her, only adding to the confusion that she already felt. If she had arrived in this crazy dream world last night, then where was the Lois Lane who was supposed to be here? She must exist. Lex was here, and he obviously remembered a Lois. And she hadn't been here before, had she?
If she went back to sleep again, maybe when she woke up, all this craziness would be gone. Maybe she would wake up in a hospital, the victim of a mugging, and the whole insane situation would turn out to be some kind of wild hallucination inspired by the blow that had made the back of her head so sore.
Only, going to sleep right now wasn't going to be possible. She was too keyed up and upset by what seemed a literal impossibility. She wasn't a bit sleepy.
She dropped her nightgown to the floor and stepped into the shower. She'd better hurry. She had a lot of things to figure out today.
**********
By the time she had bathed and dressed, the clock on her nightstand told her it was noon, and she was famished. Lex usually ate on the terrace; at least he had when they had been dating, but she wasn't sure what the protocol would be for a very late breakfast by Mrs. Luthor. On the other hand, she didn't really have to answer to anyone, so if she chose to do something different this morning, why should anyone question her?
The breakfast room was empty, but Lois took a seat at the table and rang the little crystal bell sitting in the middle of it. After a moment, a uniformed maid entered the room. She seemed surprised to discover Lois there. "Mrs. Luthor? Can I help you, ma'am?"
"Yes," Lois said with an assumption of calm that she didn't feel. "I'd like my breakfast served here this morning -- or afternoon. And if there's a newspaper around, I'd like to see it."
"Um...yes, ma'am," the woman said, seeming a little flustered. "Right away, ma'am."
Mindful of the possibility of observers, Lois leaned back in the chair, contemplating the view out the wide window that made up one wall of the breakfast room. The buildings of Old Town were visible from here, and she remembered Lex telling her of his plans to revitalize the district by rebuilding the ancient structures with modern replicas of the older, worn and decrepit ones. There would be new restaurants and a bazaar, he told her, and shops where the merchants could sell their wares to the tourists. There would be the street vendors with the sidewalk shows of art and pottery, and exotic little establishments that sold perfume, incense, scented candles and hand-made jewelry to visitors. He had planned, she remembered, to buy out the independent merchants and replace them with franchises that answered ultimately to Lexall Enterprises, which ran similar operations in several large cities across the country. The idea had made her vaguely uneasy even then, although she had refused to listen to the feeble voice of caution that had pricked at the edges of her mind. She had shoved the thought away, telling herself that Lex knew what was best for the city, submerging the instinct of an investigative reporter that told her that something about the plans didn't smell right.
She wondered if, in this world, Lex had succeeded with that scheme as well.
The door that led to the hall opened and Nigel St. John entered, bearing a folded newspaper. "You wished to see a newspaper, Madam?"
Lois cleared her throat. "Yes, thank you, Nigel."
"I trust you are feeling well, Madam. Mr. Luthor was most distressed last night when you were found. He has set inquiries about for information concerning who could have assaulted you."
"I'm afraid I don't remember much," Lois said, quite truthfully. "Do you know what happened?"
"No, Madam. Only that you were found in the parking lot where you had parked your vehicle. You were wearing your costume, and your engagement and wedding rings were missing."
"I suppose that isn't surprising," Lois said.
"No, Madam." Nigel laid the folded newspaper neatly on the table. "I'm pleased to see that you are feeling better this morning. Mr. Luthor wished for me to inform you that he will be occupied with business matters for several hours, but that he hopes you will not feel obligated to go to work today, and will take the opportunity to rest and recover from your experience."
"I will," Lois said.
"I'll inform Mr. Luthor," Nigel said. "I will, of course, be available at once should you require anything."
"Thank you," Lois said.
Nigel bowed slightly and withdrew. Lois shivered. This whole situation was enough to give anyone the chills. How was she supposed to maintain this pretense? She had to figure out what was happening, or wake up, or something, pronto!
The door that led to the kitchen opened and a liveried servant emerged with a covered tray held before him. Lois smiled at him and waited while the man set a plate loaded with more food than she ever ate at any meal in front of her. With silent efficiency, he swiftly set the table, poured coffee, set out low fat creamer and sugar substitute, and poured ice water into the water glass.
"Thank you," Lois said automatically.
The man smiled fractionally at her and turned to leave. Lois was left alone, but she had the feeling that she was still under observation. Well, no one was going to learn much if she merely ate her breakfast and read the morning paper. She fell to on the oatmeal that obviously had been prepared from scratch by someone who knew what he was doing, and then started in on the bacon and eggs. After last night, she reasoned, she probably needed the fuel to recover.
The newspaper, she noted, was the Metropolis Star, and there was an article on the front page that caught her attention at once.
"Blackout in Metropolis", by Clark Kent. And beneath it, "Plot to blackmail government uncovered."
Her heart jumped into her throat at the sight of her partner's name. Clark was alive and writing for the Star!
Slowly, she laid the paper down and poured sugar substitute and creamer into her coffee. She took her time stirring, and lifted it to her lips, careful not to show any reaction to the information. But the newspaper headline had given her hope. If she could somehow get hold of Clark and talk to him, tell him what had happened to her, maybe she had a chance of solving this incredibly confusing situation that she had fallen into.
**********
"But Mrs. Luthor, are you certain you should go out? Mr. Luthor said specifically that you should rest."
Lois nodded. "Yes, I know, Nigel. I'm not going to work or for any marathon runs. I'm just going for a walk. I get claustrophobia in the penthouse. I promise to simply stroll along, and not exert myself, and you can tell Lex, if he asks, that I'll be back in a couple of hours."
The butler looked doubtful but stood aside and she stepped into the private elevator.
It bore her to the first floor, and Lois tried to keep an eye out without seeming to as she left the building by the private entrance. With the 20/20 vision of hindsight, she knew that during their engagement, Lex had undoubtedly kept track of her in more ways than one. Certainly,investigators probing into the dealings of LexCorp had discovered briefcases wired for eavesdropping and corporate offices used by his subordinates bugged. Lex hadn't even trusted his partners-in-crime, which probably explained how he had managed to reach the level of crime boss that he had become. She'd thought that she, herself, had been free of such observation until she had taken the gold compact that he had given her as a "token of affection" and, in a burst of temper, thrown it against the wall. That was when she had discovered that he hadn't trusted her any more than the others. Amid the broken pieces, she had discovered a tiny microphone with a transmitter that had been hidden beneath the mirror. The only place that had been free of such devices had been the penthouse itself. Apparently Lex hadn't liked the idea of others, even men in his own employ, spying on him -- which made sense considering how much he had to hide.
She made no attempt to avoid location finders or even human observation at this point. The whole exercise was to make Lex think that she really had gone out for nothing more than a walk. She strolled toward Centennial Park, and it took less than ten minutes to locate her tail: a scruffy youth who seemed to have no particular destination in mind except to meander along the opposite sidewalk, a skateboard under one arm and a look of boredom on his features.
She hadn't taken a handbag with her, preferring to stuff a handful of loose change into one pocket, and several twenties into her bra, just in case she needed the cash. In fact, she had nothing with her that was likely to be used to conceal a microphone. That was deliberate on her part. She wanted whoever was monitoring her to get used to the idea that she didn't take such things with her if she was just going out for a harmless walk. Lex's spy could report later that all she had done was walk in Centennial Park. Near the park, she stopped at a hot dog stand and purchased a hot dog, which she munched as she strolled along. At another stand she bought a cup of hot coffee and a few moments later was sitting on a wooden bench in the park, sipping it carefully and watching the man who was following her from the corner of her eye. He wasn't likely to be able to tell that she was doing so. Sunglasses had their uses besides protecting her eyes from the sun and hiding her identity from the media.
The tail had taken a sudden interest in the ducks in the pond a short way from her, and was tossing them bits of bread from his own hot dog bun. Apparently her idea had seemed like a good one to him, she thought whimsically, before returning to the puzzle that she had come no nearer to solving during her walk.
Metropolis looked exactly the same as before. It even smelled the same, and never in her memory had she ever dreamed of smells. If this was a dream it was by far the most detailed one that she had ever had, and she was starting to very much fear that it wasn't a dream.
Then how was she to explain her very clear memories of the last several months? Was she completely insane? If she was, then there was no point of going farther with this, because all her memories of what had been discovered about Lex were false. But if she was sure of anything, it was that her mind was sound. If it wasn't, she might as well act as if it was, because just giving in to this situation wasn't something that she could do.
Well, there was one way to prove to herself that she wasn't crazy, and that was to do a little investigating and dig up evidence of some of Lex's criminal activities for herself. And if Clark hadn't given up investigating Lex, then he would probably be willing to help her once he realized that she had finally seen the light. Assuming that he was willing to speak to her at all.
That thought brought her up sharply. Clark had hated the thought of her marriage to Luthor. He had been angry and she'd thought at the time, jealous, although he had taken back his declaration of love later. She wasn't completely sure that she believed him, but had been content to let the subject lie. Only now, it might have some bearing on any attempt she made to contact him. And if she did, what would Lex do?
It was just as well that she hadn't jumped into any course of action without thinking it over, she decided. How long had she been out here? She glanced at her watch, and another thought occurred to her.
Lex had bugged her compact. How about her watch? It was a beautiful watch, made of Black Hills gold, with the traditional grapevine pattern, and the band was also made of the same material. She obviously hadn't worn it with her costume last night, since she had found it on her dresser this morning. Lex had given it to her for their three-month anniversary, judging by the engraving on the back. And it could easily contain a tracking device. As a matter of fact, she should suspect any piece of jewelry or any item that she carried with her to have one, if Lex gave it to her.
But she could still use that to her advantage. He didn't know she knew, so she could use the fact to establish her complete innocence. It was just past two. Clark wouldn't be home for a while. Lex would be watching her closely today, but maybe tomorrow he would be less alert, especially since she had done nothing today that she hadn't said she would do. All she had done was take a walk to the park.
As a matter of fact, strolling around the park, enjoying the fall colors sounded like a good idea. Lex might wonder if she only came here to eat a hot dog and drink coffee. She got up from the bench, pitched her coffee cup into the nearest trash container and began to walk along the nearest path into the park.
The fall colors were as breathtaking as she had expected them to be. The hitch was that she didn't care. She made a show of admiring the trees, brilliant in their cloaks of gold, orange and bronze, but her mind was busy turning over plans to gather evidence on her supposed husband.
At least some of Lex's criminal activities had come to light over the past months, so she had some idea of where to look. Investigators had located many files in his office, as if he didn't want them anywhere out of his control. Others had turned up in a heavy vault in the basement of Lex Tower. She had managed to be present when the thing was actually opened. It was a combination lock, she recalled, with five numbers. She couldn't open it without the combination -- but Superman could. If she could get him to help her. She would go down there tomorrow and scout out the lay of the land. And she could conveniently "forget" to wear her watch or any other item that might contain a transmitter. It was just as well to see what she was up against.
It was as she turned at last onto the path that would lead her back to Lex Tower, that the man passed her. He was an unremarkable fellow, with reddish-brown hair and a short beard, but the sight of him produced a sharp stab of memory. She had seen this man before, and it had been recently, but she couldn't quite place the occasion. She only knew it had been before she had awakened in Lex's penthouse. After a few seconds, she stopped and turned to look after him, but he had already disappeared abound a bend of the path.
**********
"I was worried about you, darling," Lex greeted her as she stepped off the elevator.
"I only wanted to take a walk in the park," Lois said. "I get claustrophobic in the penthouse. I'm all right, Lex. Nothing but a mild headache from the whole thing. I'll be fine after a good night's sleep -- without somebody waking me up every few minutes."
His face relaxed in an indulgent smile. "How were the fall colors?"
"It was beautiful," she said, truthfully.
"We should both walk there, tomorrow. Tell me, my love, would you prefer to live in a house in the country?"
"No," she said with a smile. "I'm a city girl, Lex. The park is enough."
"I wish you would take an escort, my dear."
"I can't be alone if someone's with me." She smiled at him as guilelessly as she could. "I don't have much privacy anyway as the wife of the world's third-richest man. I have to take it when I can."
"Second-richest, Lois."
"Sorry," she said. "Habit. Anyway, no one realized who I was."
"One day someone will, and you'll have a crowd of media --"
"I'm *part* of the media," she pointed out. "I can handle them."
"My indomitable Lois," he said. "Very well, we'll shelve the subject for now. What are your plans for this afternoon?"
"I thought I'd take a nap," she said. "I didn't get much sleep last night with the nurse waking me up all the time."
"Gretchen's orders," he said. "It's standard procedure in case of a concussion."
"I know, but it doesn't do much for the patient's sleep. Anyway, I thought I'd make up for it with a couple of hours' nap this afternoon."
"An excellent idea. I told Andre to prepare your favorite dishes this evening, so you'll be rested enough to enjoy it, and hopefully the headache will be gone by then. I have a meeting this afternoon -- a videoconference with my offices in Singapore -- so I'm going to be occupied."
"All right," Lois said. "Enjoy your business meeting."
He brushed a hand across her cheek. "Rest well, my dear."
She smiled automatically, but as he walked out of the room she remained frozen with suddenly realized horror. He was her husband in this strange reality, and that enormous bed in the huge bedroom upstairs was meant for both of them. She hoped fervently that tonight he wouldn't expect anything from her, after her assault at the Halloween ball last night. And maybe before tomorrow night, she would have found the way out of this place -- whatever it was. Because if she didn't, she was going to have to think of a way to avoid any of Lois Luthor's wifely duties, and if she knew Lex as well as she thought she did, he wasn't likely to take no for an answer.
**********
tbc
