Red Like Kryptonite
Folc4evernaday
Pt.2
***
Lois punched the elevator call button furiously. He just let those criminals go. Why would he do that? “Clark Kent, you better be in the newsroom by the time I get there or your name is mud…” she muttered under her breath, positive that he could hear her. She pushed her way past the other staffers on the elevator, daring anyone to say the wrong thing to her.
She stepped off the elevator in a huff. She was a woman on a mission. The Daily Planet staffers avoided her like the plague as she scanned the newsroom for her missing partner. “Jimmy!” she called across the newsroom.
“What is it…Whoa! What’s wrong?” Jimmy asked when he saw the look on Lois’ face.
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong? I don’t know, Jimmy, why don’t you tell me what could possibly be wrong with SUPERMAN letting a bunch of criminals take off with our checks…HE just STOOD THERE!” she ranted, tossing her briefcase on her desk as she angrily sank into her chair.
“Oh,” Jimmy replied meekly. “I see.”
“Really? Because I don’t see, Jimmy!” Lois snapped back, “I don’t see how he could…DO something like that!” Lois was near tears at this point.
Jimmy just stared on, unsure of what to do. “Lois, I’m sure there’s a really good explanation for all of this.” He began, desperately scanning the newsroom for Clark. Clark was the only person that seemed to be able to cajole Lois out of her bad moods. He spotted Clark coming out of the elevator and called him over, “CK!”
Clark met Jimmy’s pleading gaze and headed towards him and Lois, “What’s up?”
“Uh, apparently Superman let some criminals go earlier…with everyone’s checks…” Jimmy explained, nodding his head discreetly at Lois while mouthing ‘She’s in a bad mood!’ to Clark.
“What?” Clark just shrugged his shoulders, “Well, I guess they’ll have to reissue the checks.”
“CK? Are you feeling okay?” Jimmy asked.
“Never better,” Clark responded.
“How can you be so calm? Our paychecks were just stolen, and SUPERMAN didn’t do a thing about it!” Lois snapped at him.
“Lois, the payroll company is responsible for the safety of the checks, not Superman. Let them take care of it,” Clark replied indifferently.
“What about the responsibility of the individual to the society as a whole? The social contract that obligates one person to help others for the betterment of everyone?” she shot back.
“Well, Lois, if that’s the way you feel…great. Otherwise, I say, kick back. Enjoy. Do your own thing.” He shrugged.
Jimmy and Lois just stared at him. “CK, are you sure you’re all right?” Jimmy asked.
“Yeah, why?”
“Who are you and what have you done with my partner?” Lois asked, feeling his forehead.
“What are you guys talking about?” Clark asked, heading towards his desk. “I’m fine.”
“Uh-huh.” Lois nodded. She watched Clark sit down at his desk and then turned to Jimmy, “Jimmy, get me a copy of the security tape from the entrance of the Daily Planet. If we’re lucky; the robbery was caught on tape. Something is definitely up.”
“You got it,” Jimmy muttered, scurrying away from her desk. Lois glanced across the aisle and saw Clark was at his computer…playing a computer game.
***
Bill Church Jr. sat at his desk with Gene Newtrich, watching the playback of the robbery from earlier that morning. The image showed the crooks robbing the truck and then Superman appeared on the screen. “This is where Superman comes in! I talk to him and then—” Gene froze the picture, “There! That’s when we opened the box. When he got within about ten feet, his mood changed. Suddenly, it was like he didn’t care.”
Bill Church Jr. stared at the screen for a moment before bursting out in laughter, “Oh. This is perfect! This is better than killing him! He just doesn’t care! That’s the problem with that green stuff…it always ticked him off.” He tapped his fingers on the desk thoughtfully, picking up the edition of the Daily Planet from his desk. “For Operation Nirvana to succeed, it’s essential we control the media, and that means the Daily Planet. And if Franklin Stern won’t sell the Planet to me, we’ll just have to do things the old-fashioned way. And Perry White’s pal Superman won’t be able to do a thing about it.”
***
He let a group of criminals escape. How could he do that? Clark sat at his desk, staring into space as he tried to understand what had come over him earlier that morning. He had remembered walking to work with Lois. She had brought up that night when things had gotten pretty heated between them…He winced at that memory. They really needed to talk about that night, but every time he even thought about it, he felt his body responding uncontrollably to the memory of her skin against his…
“CK?” Jimmy’s voice interrupted his thoughts. Clark looked up to see
Jimmy handing him a stack of photos. “Here are the photos you needed for the Quine project.”
“Huh? Oh, sorry, Jimmy. I was…someplace else.” Clark took the photos from him and began to sift through them.
“You okay, CK?” Jimmy asked hesitantly. “You seemed kind of off earlier. Is everything okay with you and Lois?”
“Yeah, it’s nothing like that.” Clark smiled reassuringly at him. “I was just wondering about why Superman let those crooks get away.”
Jimmy nodded, smiling knowingly at Clark. “That was wild, wasn’t it? I mean, what was Superman thinking?”
“I don’t know.” Clark answered, “I- He just didn’t seem to …care.”
“Man, those are the luckiest crooks in Metropolis, huh?”
Clark nodded and stood up from his desk, “Not for long…Because when Superman makes up his mind to do something, he doesn’t back down.” He watched Lois from a distance typing furiously at her desk. “Excuse me.” He walked towards Lois’ desk hesitantly.
“So,” he began hesitantly, kneeling down to peer over her shoulder, “what have we got?”
“Hah, Jimmy, did you hear something?” Lois looked around sarcastically.
“Lois…” Clark breathed.
She turned to glare at him, “What? You have some explanation for why you’ve opted to play computer games all morning rather than help track down the people that stole our checks? I’d love to hear it, but my bullshit meter has met its max for the day.”
“I’m sorry. I honestly don’t know what was wrong with me earlier.” He placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it supportively. “The cops still don’t have any leads?”
She shook her head, “No.” Then she glanced towards Perry’s office in concern. “I wonder how Mr. Stern is taking it.”
Clark followed her gaze towards Perry’s office where the blinds were drawn and Perry was on the phone, raising his fists in the air as he walked around the office. He shook his head. “Judging, by the way, Perry’s pacing, I’d say ‘not good.’”
“Well, let’s see what Perry’s plan is,” Lois said, walking toward the Editor-in-Chief’s office.
They knocked on Perry’s door, and he waved them in, still on the phone. “Whoa whoa whoa. Now, Franklin, I disagree. The Planet is harder hitting than it’s ever been. We’re the last bastion of truth in Metropolis. We’re the lead man in the fight for justice. The lighthouse of enlightenment! The…Okay, great. Yes. Yes. Give my best to Muriel. Call me when you get to Paris. You too, bye.” He hung up the phone and turned to Clark and Lois. “Have I lost my edge?”
“No, why do you ask?” Lois asked.
“Oh, no reason,” Perry sighed.
“What did Mr. Stern say?” Clark asked.
“He’s got an offer on the table, and he’s thinking about selling the Planet to Multi-world Communications,” Perry explained.
Lois’ eyes widened in horror, “What?? Not to Intergang!” She and Clark had worked for months to dismantle the organization and put a stop to them adding Metropolis to the long list of cities they had taken over. There was no way she would work for Intergang.
Perry was quick to counter, “Now, Lois, we’ve never had any proof Intergang runs Multi-world Communications.”
“Everybody on the street knows it.” Lois threw her hands up in the air for emphasis. “Bill Church ran Intergang, and after he retired, his son took over.”
Perry shook his head, refusing to listen to any more of Lois’ arguments. “Lois put a brake on that wagon. I know you’ve been working on that story since November, but you’re talking about Bill Jr. I’ve known him since he was old enough to spit up on me.”
“And that makes him innocent?” Lois asked sarcastically, crossing her arms in defiance.
Perry wasn’t budging, “Billy used to caddy for me and his dad and the only thing he took over from Bill Sr. is Cost-Mart stores. And he’s doubled the stock. Now he’s one of the biggest philanthropists in the country.”
“And the biggest fake,” she sniped.
Clark decided to butt in before the argument got any more heated. He had his own suspicions about Bill Jr., but he’d learned the hard way not to force someone to see something they didn’t want to see. “Chief, what did Mr. Stern say he was going to do about the offer?”
“Well, between the printer’s strike and the delivery drivers out sick and now this payroll thing…” Perry held his index finger and thumb close to one another for emphasis. “He was this close to selling, but I talked him out of it.”
“Great.” Lois and Clark sighed in relief.
“For now; at least for seventy-two hours.” Perry sighed. “Then we’re goners. Unless you two can prove to Mr. Stern and me that Bill Church Jr is behind Intergang.”
“Seventy-two hours?” Lois asked in disbelief.
“It’ll take us that long just to organize our research,” Clark complained.
“Hey, you want to swim with the big fish, you have got to swim fast. Now, I suggest we adjourn for lunch so you can bring me up to speed on what you got so far,” Perry said looking at his watch.
“Chief, it’s nine-fifteen in the morning,” Clark said, slightly amused.
“Am I still in charge here? When I say it’s lunch; it’s lunch. Now, move!” Perry shot back. He motioned to the door as he grabbed his coat. Lois and Clark nodded and headed out the door with Perry.
***
Lois, Clark, and Perry walked towards the elevator of the parking garage. Perry felt his hip pocket and frowned. “I forgot my wallet,” he sighed. “I’ll be right back. I’ve got so many things on my mind …I’d probably lose my head if it wasn’t attached. I’ll meet you in the lobby.” He walked back towards his car.
Lois pressed the call button for the elevator, “I can hardly wait to have some nice fat pastrami at nine-thirty in the morning.”
Clark nodded in agreement, “Yeah, yahoo! But if it helps keep us from being sold to Multiworld Communications, I’m all for it.”
Lois laughed, “What. You don’t want to write stories like, ‘My Stepmother Was an Alien Go-Go Dancer?’”
Clark laughed and turned to step into the elevator car. The sound of Perry’s voice reached his ears, “Get the hell away from me!”
Clark moved at super-speed, changing into Superman on the way, to help Perry. Lois looked around and realized Clark was already at Perry’s side. She approached the scene and found Perry surrounded by a group of men dressed in black with ski masks over their heads. He was struggling in their grasp. Perry pulled off the mask of one of the assailants in an attempt to get loose.
“That was a big mistake.” Gene Newtrich remarked coldly.
“Gentlemen…” Clark stated. The struggle stopped. Perry was confident Superman would rescue him. “Mr. White doesn’t appear to WANT to go with you. Let him go.”
“Yeah, lucky for you, Superman showed up. I was about to do a little tap-dance on your heads.” Perry remarked cockily.
Lois watched in horror as Clark’s entire demeanor changed before her eyes. “Go ahead,” he said.
“What?” Perry asked.
“Tap dance or conga,” Clark said. “Do whatever you want. I mean, what would you do if I wasn’t here?”
The uncloaked man smiled and took Perry in his grasp as he and the thugs made their getaway. “Superman?” Perry called out in disbelief.
“Perry!” Lois tried valiantly to stop the men but found herself shoved to the ground. The doors slammed and the van sped away.
Clark knelt down to help Lois up. “Are you okay?”
Lois looked at him through her unshed tears. “What is wrong with you?”
She stood up and pulled away from him angrily.
“What are you talking about?” Clark asked confused.
“Perry’s been kidnapped. Go after them!” she cried.
“Lois, don’t have a stroke. What do you think the police are for?”
“The police?” she asked dumbfounded, “What is wrong with you?” she grabbed him by his cape and began to cry.
“Lois,” He put an arm around her, trying to soothe her crying.
“Don’t!” she pulled away from him. “Don’t you dare touch me, Clark.”
Clark looked down at himself, confused. He was wearing the Superman suit. “Clark?”
“Don’t look so shocked.” Lois snapped. “What is going on with you? Perry was just kidnapped and you just stood there!”
“I- I don’t know,” Clark replied solemnly, trying to rack his brain.
***
TBC...
Last edited by folc4evernaday; 10/28/16 12:32 PM.
