BACKSTORY: This story takes place after the death of Lana Lang. Jor-El refuses to save Lana for Clark, and he goes away after his father, Jonathan Kent, wins his Kansas state senate seat and doesn't die.
Fast Forward 4 years. Jonathan has served a term and Lex wants that seat again. Tess is now an acknowledged Luthor and lives in the mansion with both Lionel and Lex. The government is successfully rounding up superheroes, save for the few that have managed to keep their identities secret.
Clark and Oliver, unfortunately, are outed and detained in a federal prison. Clark is not escaping on purpose, so that Jonathan's re-election bid will not suffer. Chloe is known as 'Watch Tower' but is on the run.
Lois quits the Daily Planet to work in the PR department at LuthorCorp. The work is challenging but her co-workers are a pain in the ass. One of them being Carter Hall, who is the Head of Archaeological Research.
Lois is still the same in one respect-she is a sucker for superheroes. And when Hawkman rescues Lois and proves to be a thorn in the side of the Luthors, a problem arises...personally and professionally.
Oh and there is one more thing: Clark buried Doomsday in the desert. LuthorCorp has just dug him up...
LUTHOR FAMILY BREAKFAST TABLE:
"This time around," Lex said, "I'd like a little more family support."
Lionel Luthor rolled his eyes! Tess Mercer who was now known as 'Tess Luthor', set down her napkin.
"You always had my support, Lex. Father here is a different story, since he still seems to have a thing for the incumbent's wife." Tess said slyly.
"That's enough out of you." Lionel said stoutly, glaring at Tess. He then looked at Lex.
"I didn't support you the last time, because I didn't think you were ready for such a fool hardy venture. But you're older now. Not wiser but older and I do think that Jonathan Kent is vulnerable."
"Vulnerable? His son is The Blur and he knew it the whole time! I'd say his seat is ripe for the taking." Lex said, pushing back his chair and standing up. "I want to use LuthorCorp's PR department to help with my campaign."
Tess smirked!
"Including Lois? You know she's a Jonathan Kent supporter."
"If she wants her job..." Lex began. But Lionel interrupted.
"She won't want it at the expense of helping you beat Jonathan Kent." Lionel said blithely, before opening up the newspaper for the day.
Lex said nothing to that. Maybe he would make Lois a counter offer.
"What is this?" Lois asked the always annoying Carter Hall.
"An announcement about a LuthorCorp find that could cure disease." Carter responded casually. His title was loosely 'Archaeological Research', but he was really in charge of an archaeological finds acquired by LuthorCorp.
"I see that! What kind of disease? The word 'disease' is a little vague." Lois said, tossing back the paper he had given her. Carter felt his manhood harden at just this small bit of spirited interaction, with the very attractive Lois Lane. He was still one of the few Justice League members that had not been exposed, and he had promised Oliver Queen and Clark Kent, that he would look out for their loved ones, while they were in a federal prison.
Chloe Sullivan was a fugitive. And Carter was sure that part of the reason Lois had left the Daily Planet and come to work at this god forsaken place, was so that she could help her cousin in someway.
Carter knew why he was here. He wanted to make sure that the finds that LuthorCorp discovered, were properly procured and not abused by LuthorCorp in anyway. And Carter figured he could to that best by 'sleeping with the enemy'.
That was why he was seeing Tess Mercer.
"Are you always so testy? I mean people know what disease means in general..."
"What did you say?" Lois snapped. "You're questioning the fact that you don't NAME a specific disease on this press release you've given me? Just do it over!"
"And if I don't? Are you going to turn even redder with rage?"
Lois raised a brow, then walked over to him. She slapped him twice, then moved to leave the room. But not before Carter grabbed her arm and whirled her back to him...and into his arms.
Lois kneed him in the balls and Carter almost choked with pain...just as Lex stood in the doorway, grinning! Lois pointed at Carter!
"Don't you ever try and feel me up again! I'll cry sexual harassment so loudly, LuthorCorp will go broke and so will you!"
"Ouch!" Lex exclaimed and Carter and Lois looked over at him. Lois sighed with disgust and left the room, elbowing past Lex. Carter managed to straighten up.
"What was this that I walked in on, Hall?" Lex asked briskly.
"Lois being Lois. I gave her a press release about our Egyptian artifact that will be coming into the country tonight. Lois took umbrage with my wording is all." Carter groused as the pain in his genitals began to slowly subside.
"Hmmm. And yet Ms. Lane seemed to think you were 'feeling her up'."
Carter didn't answer that. Lois clearly didn't like him. And he had wanted to get to know her, if for no other reason, because she was important to at least two of his Justice League members.
And there was something about her that reminded him of his lost love, Shayera Hol.
Meanwhile, Lex's mind had now left the Carter/Lois match and was now on the shipment that was due in this evening. Carter Hall was a specialist in lost, archaeological artifacts and he, along with a team of LuthorCorp specialists, had managed to get their hands on something quite extraordinary.
The remains of some creature that had been buried deep in the sand, in a Middle Eastern desert. He was going down to the lab now to see if the team of scientists working on the creature, could access DNA strains at all. He stared at Carter.
"Just do whatever Lois asks, okay?" Lex said and walked out of the office. Carter watched him leave then got out his cellphone. He had time to make a visit to the the federal detention center Clark Kent and Oliver Queen were being housed in, before the event tonight. Lois Lane and his growing interest in her, would have to be shelved for awhile.
Before Lex stopped off to see to the newest LuthorCorp acquisition, he figured it was time to beg Lois for help with his Kansas State Senate campaign.
Lois was looking at a file, when she noticed him in her office doorway.
"Your secretary must be on yet another bathroom break," Lex said wryly, "I need to talk to you."
Lois put away the file on Carter Hall and gave him her full attention.
"Okay, so talk. If this is about the shindig tonight, I have read up on the little you have given me on this. I also read Carter's incomplete little summary. I will make do."
Lex closed her office door.
"I'm sure you will. I don't want to talk about the acquisition. I want to talk about my State Senate Campaign."
Lois gave him a look of confusion.
"You mean the one you lost?"
"No, I mean the one I want to win. I want Jonathan Kent's congressional seat. And I want you to get it for me."
Lois snorted and stood up to put the Carter Hall file away in a cabinet.
"I take it from that derisive snort, the answer to that is 'no'? Oh and by the way, I wasn't asking. I want you to be my campaign manager."
Lois turned to face him.
"I was planning on being Jonathan's. Again. Sorry."
"Lois," Lex said tiredly, "you're a smart woman. Jonathan Kent is in trouble. His son has been captured by the government."
"No thanks to that Vigilante Registration Act! Look, I don't want to discuss this..."
"How can you not? How can Jonathan Kent not? I mean come on, Lois! That story him and Martha Kent have been trotting out about 'finding' Clark in some space ship, is absolutely ridiculous! He's meteor infected like half the state of Kansas."
Lois folded her arms.
"I will acknowledge that Clark's situation doesn't look good for Mr. Kent. But he is a good, decent honest man..."
"He raised a vigilante, Lois."
"Clark is not a vigilante. He helps people. So does Oliver. And the answer is 'no', I won't help you take Jonathan Kent's job from him. See you tonight." Lois said coolly. Lex said nothing and walked out of her office, closing the door behind him. He then pulled out his cellphone and spoke into it.
"Yes, I have a tip for you. I know where fugitive Chloe Sullivan is hiding." Lex told the authorities.
FEDERAL DETENTION CENTER
Carter had flown to the federal prison, that housed vigilantes in Kansas, as Hawkman. He had then reverted back to Carter Hall, showed his credentials and found himself sitting across from Oliver Queen, via plexiglass.
"How is Lois?" Oliver asked.
"Not so good."
"Meaning?"
"Meaning, Oliver, that she is working for LuthorCorp when she should be over at the Planet. It doesn't take a genius to see that she's trying to find anything that could help prove her cousin's innocence."
"What bug crawled up your ass and died?" Oliver asked, looking Carter up and down. "Seriously, did you just come to see me to state the obvious?"
"No. You asked me about Lois and I answered. I'm here because I actually needed to speak to Clark. But they wouldn't let me see him."
"Clark got mouthy and is on Kryptonite lockdown." Oliver informed Carter.
"Kryptonite Lockdown? Really? Actually I'm having a hard time picturing Clark getting 'mouthy'."
"This place can do that to you. What did you want to tell him? I can get a message to him." Oliver said.
"Tell him that LuthorCorp found where Clark buried Doomsday. I've done all I can to keep him unconscious, but the Luthor's are planning an event tonight, revealing the thing. And they think he's dead or prehistoric. Many will be killed tonight if I can't that Legion ring."
"So you want to send him into the future?" Oliver asked, lowering his voice. Carter nodded.
"It's the only way." Carter told him.
"You'll be revealing yourself, you realize that."
"I've been careful, no one outside of the League knows who I am. You two got sloppy and let people realize what your secret identities were."
"I didn't!" Oliver protested.
"Don't be stupid, Queen! Someone narced on you! I think Lois thinks Luthor found out somehow, and is looking for payback evidence AND a way to help Chloe. But I'm beginning to wonder if it wasn't an inside job. Like someone from the league." Carter guessed. "All I know is, if we don't find that mole, we'll all go down."
And with that, Carter set down his phone, stood up and walked out of the visiting room. Oliver slowly replaced his receiver as well. There were whispers that SOMEONE had given over their real ID's to the VRA. And now here was that douche Carter saying it as well. Maybe now was the time to give that theory some serious thought.
The logical suspects would be any JLA members that were not in here with him and Clark.
Carter returned to LuthorCorp, and was on his way to join Lex and the team that was examining Doomsday, when he ran into Lois as he was stepping off of the elevator.
"Ms. Lane. I'm just about to look over the acquisition that can cure..." he began. That, of course was bogus. He had little doubt that out of the many things Doomsday could do, curing disease was not one of them.
"Look, Mr. Carter. I apologize for my conduct before, okay? I'll make what you gave me work."
Carter eyed her.
"Why the change of heart?"
"Why do you care?"
"Excuse me?"
"Actually," Lois began to rant, "why are you here? I mean I looked over your file. Not only are you a world renowned 'Indiana Jones', but you have donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to the poor in third world countries. Why the hell are you working for these bastards?"
"What about yourself, Ms. Lane? You usually expose the bad guys. Now you're working for them?" Carter countered.
"Fine. You don't tell me your secret and I won't tell you mine. I'll see you tonight at the event."
"I don't suppose you would need an escort?" Carter asked.
"My escort is me, myself and I. And that's the way I'd prefer it." Lois told him and walked off. Carter raised a brow, before pulling out a key card that took him through four metal doors, then a lab, where Lex, Lionel, Tess and a team of scientists, were hunched over the found 'corpse' of the creature Carter knew to be Doomsday. He did look dead. Now, would he stay that way or would all of that poking and prodding...
"Carter!" Tess called out, beaming. Lionel half glanced at the LuthorCorp archaeologist. He was an improvement from Oliver Queen, but still a little too shadowy for his tastes. Now that Tess was being acknowledged as a Luthor, she needed to be seen with the right type of man. And Carter Hall was somewhere in the middle.
Lex scarcely noticed Carter's entrance, as his eyes took in the creature. Jesus! What the hell was that thing? It didn't look very Egyptian to him! He looked at one of the scientists, a Dr. Fenton.
"How long until you can tell what the DNA origin of this thing is?" he asked.
"With our advanced technology, a couple of hours." Dr. Fenton answered.
Lionel turned back towards his son and the science team.
"A couple of hours? Splendid. We can announce that bit of information at tonight's benefit. We'll leave you to your work." Lionel said, then motioned to Lex. Lex began walking out of the lab with Lionel.
"I plan to escort Nell Lang tonight. She's getting a divorce."
"And you're telling me this, why, Dad?" Lex asked blithely.
"Well, son, she hates your guts for killing Lana."
"I didn't kill Lana! Why the hell do you, of all people, keeping saying that? It was an accident!"
"Hmmm, yes. Well anyway, I'm escorting Nell and she won't want to see your face. So please make yourself scarce at the event tonight. Meaning don't even greet her."
Lex said nothing to that, but glanced over at Tess and Carter, before speaking to his father again.
"I don't think Mr. Hall is right for Tess."
"Yes, I've had three investigators look into his background and it's just a little too pat for me." Lionel told him.
"Well, that I can deal with. I caught him trying to feel up Lois Lane earlier. She didn't especially appreciate it."
Lionel raised a brow.
"Really? Hmmm. Ms. Lane will be present tonight?"
"Of course." Lex answered.
"Then I think I'll keep an eye on the situation. If he's interested in Ms. Lane, then he will show it. We might be able to use that to get him out of your sister's life, without looking like the bad guys in this."
"For once." Lex finished.
Lois left LuthorCorp and stopped by the Kent Farm. She didn't know what was drawing her to the place, that was once her home for such a short time. Maybe it was Lex's request. It had been unsettling. The way he had informed her that he expected her to run his campaign. She couldn't help but feel that he was going to force her in some way, to be unable to refuse his request. But how?
Martha came out of the house and walked down the porch steps to greet her. After a brief hug, Lois asked about Clark.
"I went to see him three days ago. He's grown a beard. We all know that he could escape if he wanted to, but he's determined not to make his father look bad."
"Yeah but does Clark really think that his staying put in prison, is going to make people vote for Jonathan?" Lois asked. Martha frowned.
"I know it will be hard, but I think Jonathan's record will speak for itself."
Lois looked away and Martha folded her arms.
"Okay, Lois. Out with it! You will be running the campaign after all."
"Okay, I'm going to lay it on the line here: I think the cover-up was worse than the lie. I think people are going to wonder how Clark was raised and why. I want to find some of the people that Clark helped. I don't want Mr. Kent to run from this thing. Let's take it on, head on, and not act like we're ashamed of Clark being The Blur."
Martha nodded slowly. Lois continued.
"We could use these people in some of the TV ads as well. Do you think Mr. Kent will go for it?"
Martha shrugged.
"I don't know. He's determined not to mention Clark because he doesn't think he should be an issue at all. He's the one running on just HIS record. He doesn't want any of us being dragged into it."
"Mrs. Kent, I'm worried about what kind of crap campaign Lex is going to run! Meaning one that's fear based. He hasn't even declared himself and polling shows he's the one man that people would like to see run against Mr. Kent. And we had money problems before..."
"I'm sure Lionel would back Jonathan again." Martha said meekly. Lois gave her a look.
"Has Lionel said that?"
"No." Martha admitted.
Lois was about to answer, when her cellphone rang. She pulled it out of her purse and saw that it was from her Uncle Gabe Sullivan.
"Uncle Gabe? What's wrong?"
"Lois, it's Chloe. The feds have picked her up and taken her to a detention center." Gabe Sullivian said morosely.