Clark took off faster from his apartment than he meant to, creating a sonic boom as he flew down his street. He calculated that if Lois had managed to drug Luthor almost three hours ago, than he would be beginning to wake up by now. Now that he had a more specific idea of where to look, it didn’t take him long to find the sewers as Lois had described them. Below street level, he found an open steel door. He scanned the room, and saw a man, sitting in the dark on the floor, beginning to stir. Clark didn’t waste a second.
He came upon Lex quickly, grabbing him by his shirt.
“So, we meet again,” Clark said, feeling all the pain and anger build in him again at seeing his enemy. He let Luthor feel his strength just a bit, lifting him off the ground, just to intimidate him. He wanted Luthor to know that if he wanted to, he could crush him… more permanently than he had crushed his spirit when he took Lois away from him. Clark wanted Lex to feel that helpless despair for just one second…
“Su—Superman?” said Lex, still coming out of the drug.
“That’s right, Luthor. It’s over this time.”
“I thought—you—you ---where’s Lois?” asked Luthor, trying to regain his equilibrium.
“Safe from you,” Clark said. His hate started to dissipate then, feeling sudden pity for this enemy at his mercy. Lois was safe and Luthor’s helpless expression at being held by his collar got to Clark. He who could never destroy life felt compassion for even those who didn’t understand its value; he relaxed his grip just a bit.
Clark took a moment to take in their surroundings a bit more in detail. Though it was dark, his super-vision helped him see the room clearly. <<Lois had been kept *here*?>> he asked himself, taking in the cold and dank atmosphere as well as the odd laboratory equipment.
“Have you turned into a mad scientist after all, Luthor?” Clark asked with some derision.
“I merely wanted to take back what was mine, what was stolen from me,” Luthor answered, growing ever more coherent as he tried to shake out of Superman’s hold on him.
Clark gave him a little shake, determined not to let the little weasel get away this time, “I’ve had enough. Let’s go pay a visit to the Metropolis Police, shall we?”
********
“So, it seems your outing tonight was fruitful,” said Henderson, gladly taking Lex into custody.
“While you were gone, I got a phone call from a very alive Ms. Lane.”
Clark couldn’t keep the smile from his face. “I know, Henderson. I don’t understand it, but she’s alive.”
Luthor scoffed, fully awake now from the tranquilizer drug. “It was *I* who brought her back! You’d think she’d learn to appreciate all the things I am capable of doing for her…”
Clark turned to Luthor, wondering if it was worth the argument. He was about to speak when Henderson stopped him by saying, “You’ve eluded the law for the last time, Mr. Luthor. I think you’re done meddling in the life of Ms. Lois Lane.”
“You haven’t seen the last of me, Superman… or should I say, *Clark Kent*,” Lex said with icy hatred, waiting for a reaction at this revelation from Henderson.
Henderson merely looked at Luthor with pitying patience, a gesture that angered Lex to no end. “With ravings like that, you might end up in the Metropolis Mental Ward. Is that really where you want to spend your time, Mr. Luthor?” Henderson said, thinly veiling his threat. Clark smiled at the inspector’s choice of words. Maybe Luthor would cease to be a threat after all.
Lex suddenly stood up, hampered by the handcuffs they had put on him, “You wouldn’t dare! Don’t you know who I am? I am Lex Luthor! I will get out of here and when I do, I will tell the world that their Superman has been hiding among the populace as a reporter, as a fraud! Then, they’ll chase you out of Metropolis like they should have done from the moment you arrived! Do you hear me, I’ll tell the world!”
Clark tried to block out Luthor’s words, as they voiced some of his worst fears. But he also realized they were the desperate gestures of a condemned man. Luthor couldn’t hurt him now, and Clark was sure that Henderson would make good on his threat if Luthor even tried. It wasn’t absolute security, but Clark would take what peace he could from knowing that even if revealed, his secret wasn’t likely to be taken seriously if done so by a man in a mental ward.
Henderson gestured for Superman to take Luthor to his own private cell until he could be dealt with at a later time. And the irony that it was the same cell Clark had been locked in not twelve hours earlier was not lost on Clark.
Clark slammed the prison door, turning to take one last look at Luthor, debating a moment if he had any last words for his enemy. He thought of coming up with some retort to cut Luthor to the quick, but what came out surprised them both.
“Thanks for bringing her back. Take comfort in knowing that at least you were able to right that wrong,” Clark said quietly, then turned away, missing the stunned expression on Lex Luthor’s face.
When the roles had been reversed, when Luthor had held Superman at his mercy, he had never offered him anything other than haughtiness and hatred. In that moment, Luthor suddenly wondered if the alien creature who had stolen Lois Lane’s heart was actually more human than he had thought. This enraged Lex, and he slammed his cage in frustration. The thought that the alien superman could show more human compassion in such a simple speech than Luthor had learned in his lifetime, was enough nearly to drive him to madness…
Clark walked back over to Henderson. “So, I guess this means I’m a free man?”
“Absolutely. But I also want to see Lois as soon as possible. We’ll need a detailed report on what happened.”
“She’ll be here as soon as she can manage. You can see why I didn’t want to bring her…?” Clark said, gesturing over his shoulder towards where he had locked up Luthor.
“Didn’t want to bring who?” said a feminine voice. Lois stepped into the room, smiling at the inspector.
Inspector Henderson stood up, surprise written on his face. “I can’t believe it, Lois! I mean, I heard it—“ he shook his head in disbelief. “And… well, you two must be the luckiest people I know, because you are the *second* homicide case in my career that solved itself!” Henderson said, realizing how Clark Kent had managed to come back from the dead when a strange reborn crop of gangsters had shot him up a year ago.
“Yeah, bizarre things like that happen to us all the time,” she laughed, giving Clark a nudge.
“So, we need you to file a report on everything that happened with Lex Luthor,” said Henderson, already beginning to pull the necessary paperwork to get Luthor processed and Clark released.
Lois stood up a little straighter, all business all of the sudden, “It’s a long story, Inspector. And I’ll tell you exactly what happened as long as you promise that the Planet will have the only exclusive.”
Clark couldn't help smiling at her. His Lois was back.
************
“What do you say we give Perry a surprise this morning?” Clark said as they left the police station an hour later.
“I think that's a fabulous idea,” Lois said, willingly jumping into his arms.
"You wanna fly, huh?" Clark asked with a grin.
"You betcha. It's not every day Lois Lane comes back from the dead, you know. I got to milk it for all it's worth," she laughed, wrapping her arms around Clark's neck.
They paused just long enough for a quick kiss and then they were heading to the skies.
With proper aplomb and style, Superman flew into the Planet’s open newsroom window with Lois Lane smiling and alive in his arms. Both were reminded of a similar moment, shortly after they had first met when he had swept her off her feet during the EPRAD shuttle launch. It had seemed a lifetime ago, but Lois could swear that it was way more thrilling flying in Clark’s arms now than it had been those many months ago.
“I hope you know this dramatic entrance doesn’t mean I enjoy playing the ‘helpless woman,’” she said with a low laugh in his ear.
“You, Lois? Never,” he agreed, landing them right in the middle of the bullpen. “But I can’t wait to see the look on Perry’s---“
He stopped to take in the full effect of Perry’s jaw dropping as he made his way over to them from his office. “Superman! How? I mean—did she--?” he started, then shook his head in awe. “Great Shades of Elvis! Well come here, darling!”
Lois jumped from Clark’s arms and ran over to Perry to hug him.
“Well, I hope you mean to tell me what happened?” said Perry, giving questioning glances to Lois and Superman.
Lois smiled. “Don’t worry, I’ll have an award winning article on your desk faster than you can imagine! Luthor is in prison and Clark is set free!”
“Well, where is Clark?” asked Perry.
Lois’ grin got wider, enjoying being on the inside as she thought of a cover. She tried not to glance at ‘Superman’ as she said, “Well, he went straight home for a shower. His mother has been keeping vigil and he just couldn’t keep her waiting with the news of his release.”
Clark surreptitiously shook his head, acknowledging to himself that Lois was definitely the better liar out of the two of them…. And at the moment, he didn’t think that was such a bad thing.
