Lois & Clark Forums Forums Fan Fiction Lois & Clark Fanfic From the Dark (5/?)

From the Dark (5/?)
by Catherine Bruce

Rating: PG-13 for language, violence, and perhaps some sexual situations later on. It all depends on how badly I blush while attempting to write… those scenes.
Summary: Here, Lois has been missing for over a year. When she comes back, she and Clark have to fix some issues. There, Lois is trying to come to terms with a world without a Clark Kent and somehow survive a war-torn Metropolis.
Disclaimer: I don't own "Lois and Clark." That joy and privilege falls to those that do.
Author's Notes: This is set a year after the events of "Tempus, Anyone?" Despite what it says in the first couple of parts, this is not a deathfic, even if some people start out dead. They get better, honest!
Please Note: The timeline of this story is slightly confusing at first. It starts out Here, which is in a modern day Metropolis, and flip-flops back and forth to There, which starts out a year prior and takes place in an alternate alternate Metropolis.
Special Thanks: To my Beta Type Peoples! Without the proddings of one Psychofurball, this would never have gotten past the second part. Thanks also to LaraMoon for the quick but thorough beta (all those poor commas, thrown to the curb!), and to KSaraSara, Saskia, and anyone else I may have forgotten that I have pestered with this.

Sad to say, but this is as far as I had gotten with this story, so updates are bound to become sporadic from here on out. I’ll try to get at least one part out a week, but there are… certain circumstances at work that will be eating up a ridiculous amount of my freetime over the next coming weeks. However, these certain circumstances should give me plenty of chances to ponder exactly where I’m going.

And since I only have an idea where I'm going (although I DO have several ending possibilities circling inside my noggin), any form of suggestions of what you would like to see would be greatly appreciated.

***

From Part Four

~*There*~

Usually, he didn’t bother with domestic disputes, However, there was something about the woman that made him want to tear the man away and throw him against the nearest wall. He suspected that it had to do with the four inches of steel protruding from her skin, and how it didn’t seem to stop her from trying to gauge her opponent’s eyes out.

In a blink, he was standing over the two. He heard the sound of tearing cloth before he reached down and pulled the man up and off of her by the collar. Giving into his earlier urges, the man became airborne before crashing with a meaty thump on the other side of the room.

The woman was still panicking, struggling to move away. Blood was gathering from a cut that crossed her skin just below the clavicle, and was pooling around the metal spike. Her shirt was torn, and dirt was mixing with the blood and sweat on her skin, and yet there was a fire in her eyes that sent tingles shooting down towards his toes.

He heard movement from outside as people were coming to investigate. On an impulse, he reached down and scooped her into his arms before flying off, going slow enough to not jostle her injuries too badly.

A small hand fluttered softly against Alex’s neck, the soft warmth startling him as he landed on an isolated roof a short distance away.

“Clark?”

~*Here*~

Lois began to mumble, chanting something over and over under her breath, and even with his enhanced hearing he had to strain to hear her over the cascading water around them. “I don’t care. I don’t care if you’re not real. I don’t care.”

Clark’s breath hitched in his chest. What’s happened to you? “I’m here Lois, it’s me. You’re home, you’re safe.” He ran his hands soothingly where he could reach as he continued to speak nonsense to her.

The water began to cool, but he didn’t notice until she started squirming against him to get closer. Carefully, he lifted her up and, after shutting off the water, had her at the bed in seconds. He started to let her go so that he could get her dried off, but she clung to his neck. “Don’t leave me.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.” When she still wouldn’t let go, he settled for using his heat vision to dry them both off where he could. Then, after pulling down the covers, Clark settled them both in. As soon as the blankets were pulled back up, she burrowed her face close to his, sighing his name as she entwined her limbs with his until he wasn’t sure anyone would be able to guess where he ended and she began.

It wasn’t until a few minutes later, after her breath had evened out and she was asleep, that he realized she was no longer shaking.

***

Part Five

***

~*There*~

Alex gently stood her on her feet, ignoring the questioning name as he assessed the damage. The spike went in a good inch or so, and unless she had it fixed soon, he probably would have saved her for nothing.

“Clark.” Her voice was insistent now as her palm gently pressed against the side of his face. Her action caused an unfamiliar swelling in his chest, one he wasn’t sure he liked very much.

Uncomfortable, he swatted her hand away. He had meant to be gentle about it, but the look in her eyes and the way she clutched her hand against her chest told him he had been anything but. The way her large, luminous eyes filled with pain made him want to tear his own throat out, and he began to regret taking her with him. “You’re a bit dazed, lady. I’m not your Clark.”

He had tried to be calming, but apparently he had said something wrong. He had to tear his eyes away from hers, unable to be under her scrutiny any longer.

“Obviously,” she whispered softly, almost brokenly, and perhaps more to herself. At his sharp glance, she raised her eyebrows in defiance.

“I’m going to need to pull this out,” he informed her. “It’s going to hurt like a bitch, especially when I burn it, but if I don’t you’ll probably bleed to death. Alright?”

Her eyes flashed briefly with fear, before being replaced by a look of determination. Her resolve sent flutters up his spine and his toes tingled some more and yeah, picking her up had probably been the most idiotic thing he had ever done. As quick as he could, he removed the spike from her shoulder. Her cry of pain echoed sharply through his chest and he forced himself to concentrate the beam of heat that sealed off the wound. Her knees almost gave way from the pain. Surprised, he caught her before she could fall. Her good arm came around his neck as she cradled the other between their bodies, and she leaned bodily against him as she panted heavily.

“Thank you,” she mumbled against the skin of his throat, startling him.

For as long as he could remember, no one had ever said those words to him. Not even his father, who wasn’t necessarily a polite man by any means. And, usually, this would have been the part where anyone else would have run screaming into the night, desperate to get away from him. But for some reason, she seemed to be seeking comfort from him, instead. It was an odd, unsettling feeling, another one that he didn’t think he liked too much. That didn’t explain why his hands curled around her waist in return, though.

After several long uncomfortable seconds, she pulled away. He expected her to push away then, but she only stepped back far enough so that she could look up into his face. She was shaking slightly, but it was from the residual weakness caused by exertion and pain rather than fear. She didn’t say anything for a long moment, her expression inscrutable and her eyes deep, and Alex had to force himself not to fidget.

Finally the silence and her perusal of him became too much. “I should get you back to your-“

“What’s your name?”

Her interruption caused his heart to drop. A small part of him had soared at her obvious lack of disdain she felt towards him, never expecting for her to not know who he was when it seemed as though everyone else did. “I’m the Enforcer,” he ground out, avoiding her eyes as he spoke.

“No.” Once more her hand was against his face, and this time he didn’t push her away. She gently pressed against his cheek until he gave in and looked into her eyes. “That’s what you do. What do people call you when you’re not… Enforcing?” Her quick, but brilliant, flash of a smile melted away any will he had left.

“Alex,” he whispered, stunned at the question. No one had ever said ‘thank you,’ and no one had ever asked his real name.

“Lois,” she returned, just as softly. She took his hand with her good one and shook it firmly, once, before she leaned against him once more.

Flustered, he stepped back, steadying her as she wobbled a bit. “I should – I should go.” He was about to take off when she called out to him, and his traitorous feet refused to move.

“Hey wait, how am I supposed to get down from here if you just fly away like that?” The lilt in her voice, that quirk of eyebrow and lips – was she actually teasing him?

Shaking his head, he walked back to her and lifted her by the waist. Effortlessly, he flew them to a deserted alley not far from where he had picked her up. “I should really get home.” Before she could stop him, or even blink for that matter, he was airborne and trying to get as far away from the most frustrating, confusing, and all around fascinating creature as he could.

***

~*Here*~

Light.

Warmth.

Lois hadn’t felt this secure since… well, it had certainly been over a year since she’d felt anything like this. She remembered being cold for so long, even before waking up in the morgue.

The morgue…

Memories from last night flashed before her eyes. She remembered reading about Superman instead of The Enforcer, waking up in a cold metal bin, and most importantly, finding herself outside of what had been Clark’s apartment. Everything after that was a blur, hidden in a fog behind the need to get warm.

And now, she was warm. Incredibly so, just shy of being too warm. She didn’t want to leave the cocoon she had found herself in this morning and didn’t dare open her eyes in case it all was just a dream.

Eventually, Lois could no longer cling to the last remnants of sleep, couldn’t pretend that she was finally home, nor could she allow herself to pretend that the warmth she clung to really belonged to the man she wished he was. She opened her eyes to a sea of soft tan skin and even though she knew it was a dream – it had to be a dream – for a moment she wished she could just let herself believe. She knew it wasn’t real and the last time she had allowed herself to believe otherwise, she had almost gotten herself into more trouble than her heart could bear.

Carefully, she tried to move away, but as soon as she started to, there was a sharp intake of breath beneath her as strong arms pulled her back in. Lois squeezed her eyes shut at the agonizingly familiar scent she found at the base of his neck. The palms of her hands ached where her nails dug in, resisting the urge to cling to whatever part of him she could.

It’s not him, she forced herself to remember. It’s not him!

This time, the intense tremors coursing through her body had nothing to do with being cold.

“Please let me go,” she whispered brokenly against his skin.

His arms loosened for a brief moment before tightening again, as though unsure of what to do. “You know I can’t do that,” he said just as brokenly.

Panic welled beneath her chest as she pushed against him. “Please,” she choked out, eyes burning.

Immediately the arms were gone. Not expecting the sudden freedom, Lois fell to the side, blankets twisting around her waist. It was then that she realized just how naked she was. Confused and slightly humiliated, she pulled as much of the bedding with her as she could before edging up on the bed, back coming to rest against the headboard. Everything was a jumble in her mind and she had no idea how she had come to be here.

There was a feather-soft brushing of fingers against her bare shoulder. The hesitant touch caused her to jump and her eyes flew open to meet a confused and hopeful face. His hand lifted to skim gently across her cheek.

“It wasn’t a dream,” he breathed softly. It was both a statement and a question, and his expression turned to one of hesitant wonder.

“How can you be sure?”

“I don’t think I could take it if it was.” He reached across her body, hesitating slightly when she reflexively flinched, before taking a pair of glasses from the nightstand beside her. She watched the natural act of him placing the familiar frames over his eyes, a smooth movement born from years of practice. When the glasses were properly adjusted, he propped himself up on one arm and took several moments simply drinking in the sight of her. His sudden and brilliant smile almost hurt to look at. “I can’t believe you’re finally home.”

Home.

Clark.

Clark!

Lois launched herself at him with a force that nearly knocked him over and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. He held her just as tightly, burrowing into her neck and inhaling deeply. She knew he was afraid that if he loosened his hold for even a second, that she might disappear in a flash of light, or a puff of smoke. It was the same fear she had. “If this is a dream, please don’t ever wake me up,” she begged through the tears that had started running down her cheeks of their own volition.

“It’s not, I promise. You’re home, finally home.”

Home. She finally allowed herself to believe.

***

~*There*~

Despite her attempts at humor with him, Lois watched the air where Alex had fled with a heavy heart. He had been so different from anything she had ever seen, even from the alternate Metropolis that she’d left about a month before. Even there, without the confidence of the Superhero that she had believed to be an integral part of his existence, Clark had at least held some semblance of the man that she had loved. Alex, however, seemed to hold none of his surety of his place in this world, and she had sensed in him a loneliness that not even her own Clark had ever seemed to know.

Her hand was still throbbing from when he had pushed it aside, cradled now protectively against her chest. Her other arm, where the spike had been imbedded painfully deep, hung almost loosely at her side. She attempted to flex her fingertips and only succeeded in a loose fist before the pain shooting up her arm forced her to stop. She didn’t think that there would be any permanent damage, but it would be awhile before she’d be able to clear any more buildings.

Tears stung at the back of her eyes, forcing her to swipe at them angrily. She had cried too much since getting here, and she was sick and tired of the feelings of helpless and hopelessness that seemed to constantly threaten to overwhelm her.

After watching the empty skies for several long moments, Lois turned to head back to where she had been attacked. Her entire body ached, both from the assault and the long day of work she had already put in, so her normally brisk pace was hampered with a stiff gate.

It took her awhile to reach the old Cost-Mart building. Alex had apparently flown her a couple more blocks away than strictly necessary. As she walked, kicking at the rare pebble that littered the cracked asphalt, her mind began to whir about with every new bit of information she had gleaned during her brief encounter with The Enforcer. She had heard people talking, in hushed tones and angry sneers, about the unfeeling monster that was the warden of the tyrant. She had seen only a glimpse of this person they had talked about when he had shoved her hand away with a force that could very well have broken it if he had wanted it too. But she had also seen something else there, something that made the Mother Hen in her want to wrap him in warm fuzzy blankets and feed him hot cocoa until he burst. He had seemed so confused at her gratitude for saving her life, and even more perplexed when she asked who, and not what, he was.

What the hell had Lex done to that poor shell of a man?

So wound up in her ruminations, she didn’t realize that she had made it back to the old battered store until she had nearly walked past it. As she tried to figure out just what she was supposed to tell her fellow colleagues, she almost ran straight into the back of Jimmy. It was then that she noticed that there was a lot more people just outside the building than there had been earlier, including her would-be attacker. She was thrilled to see that he was still unconscious.

Residual anger flared through her as she remembered what had almost happened, and what the bastard had done to her shoulder. “If you know what’s good for him, you’ll make sure he won’t wake up while I’m still here.”

Jimmy spun around at the sound of her voice, relief evident on his young face. “Lois!” He rushed forward the couple of steps and embraced her in a tight hug, only to let go at the hiss of pain that was dragged from her lungs. “What happened to you? Everyone became worried when we couldn’t find you.”

As he was talking, Perry and several of the people she had been working with came rushing toward her. “Judas Priest, we were about to organize a search party to go find you. What happened?”

“That man,” she gestured with a sneer to the prone body on the floor, “Attacked me, that’s what happened.”

Perry’s eyebrows rose in shock. “Attack? But how? And where was everyone else when this happened?” He turned to glare at her sheepish coworkers.

“They’d moved on to the next building. Guess I was moving too slowly for their liking.”

“They left you?” Outraged, the older man turned in a display she had often seen in her old editor. “You people know better than to leave one of your own alone! Especially a female, and especially at night!” One tried to speak up in her own defense, but Perry lifted a finger at them warningly. “I will deal with you all later. Now get back to work, and I don’t want to see any of you until you’re done. Audry!” At the sound of her name, one of the stockier women turned towards her boss. “Take that scum to the brig then get your *** back to work as well, you hear?”

They shuffled out, and one of the larger females turned a glower on Lois as she left. Raising her chin in defiance, Lois returned the look with a more scathing one.

Alone, Perry and Jimmy escorted Lois from the building. “What about the rest of my work, Chief?” Though her body protested greatly at the thought of having to go back to work, her pride wouldn’t allow her to leave her job unfinished.

“Those ladies can finish it.” He cut off her protests with a wave of the hand. “I’m punishing them, not you. And besides, maybe placing you on the clean-up crew was a bit of a mistake on my part.”

“Perry, I can do the job just fine.”

“I have no doubt that you can, but you have to understand. It’s worse than high school cliques around here at times. I guess placing someone of your… er… stature on their team was a bit of an insult to them.”

“So Lois, what happened? Perry and I were coming to check on you when we found you gone.” Jimmy began to walk backwards in front of them, trying to keep eye contact with her while also somehow managing to avoid tripping over a strewn piece of rubble.

“I was attacked, and then I was saved.” And their questioning look, she tried to figure out how to explain the entire situation. “I was saved by this Enforcer guy everyone keeps talking about.”

Jimmy balked. “The Enforcer? Are you sure you’re talking about the same guy? Because The Enforcer doesn’t save people, he usually kills them.”

“Jimmy,” Perry admonished. “You know a lot of that stuff is just ghost stories parents tell their children so that they behave.” After a beat, he turned towards Lois. “Are you sure it was The Enforcer?”

“Well, unless you guys know of somebody else who looks great in black and flies, then yeah. Same guy. And that’s also how he introduced himself.”

Shortly after, they reached the barracks. When Lois started for the bay where her room was located, Perry placed a hand on her bad shoulder, causing her to wince. “I want you to see the medic, Honey. You’ve been limping all the way back.”

“Really, I’m fine.”

“Is that so?” Perry made to touch her shoulder, but before he could get within a couple of inches, she yelped and jerked back. “That’s what I thought. To the infirmary with you.”

“Come on, I’ll take you.” Jimmy placed his hand in the center of her back as he started to lead her towards the room she was getting far too familiar with for her taste. “Oh, and our regular doctor is back now. She’s been away for awhile, visiting some of our sister sites downtown.”

She didn’t have time to ask any questions, because as soon as they entered the undersized and understaffed medical facility, her questions were answered.

Standing in the middle of the room, wearing a dingy white coat, was none other than Mayson Drake.

***

end Part Five