DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. DC OWNS EVERYTHING.
A/N:
Hello! I know that I have another fanfic that I need to finish, and everyone who's reading that probably hates me for starting a new one when the other one has been left at a cliffhanger...but I couldn't resist writing this.
There is a despicable, unacceptable scarcity of Clois fics on the internet. So I decided to make my own. It's an AU, I guess. It's based on the comics, Smallville, the DCAU, the Superman Movies, Man of Steel, and about a hundred other things. So just take it as a new origin story for Superman. I'll figure out a name for this universe some other time.
It'll be multiple chapters. However, I must warn that my updating may be quite sporadic. It could take me over a month to post a new chapter. I'm super busy, despite my intense love for writing and Clois.
But let us begin! Prologue! This is a VERY dark and intense chapter soo...please be warned. I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable.
Just some context: Superman has never made an official appearance at the beginning of the story. Lois is a young, twenty-something reporter at the Daily Planet who has already won her first Pulitzer. Clark Kent...well, you'll find out what he's up to. Lex Luthor is a billionaire weapons mogul. Other heroes do exist in this universe, and they MIGHT make an appearance if I find time to write a sequel.
(p.s. if you're wondering about Qurac and Biyala I'd consult the Young Justice wiki)
Summary: A traumatic experience has since left Lois Lane in a state of hopelessness. But can a symbol of good - a Man of Steel...a Superman - restore it? And just what does her new co-worker, Clark Kent, have to do with it? Join Lois in this new, reimagined Superman origin story!
PROLOGUE: DAY OF CHANGE
Lois still hasn't acclimated to the warmth. The sun beats down on her mercilessly, and she prays for a cloud at least - just to blot out the daylight for a short, blissful moment. Of course, that would barely cool the arid atmosphere that surrounds her - the air that bakes her skin and cracks her lips.
An hour ago, Tom - her inexperienced, substitute photographer - swore that these were the worst conditions he has ever experienced. Lois nearly laughed derisively. Sure, the heat was and is still scorching. But investigative journalist Lois Lane has trekked through dense rainforests, climbed freezing mountains, and confronted international criminals. Heat is one thing she can definitely handle.
Not that she wishes for temperatures like these. She admits that a few clouds and a little rain would be nice - amazing, even.
Nevertheless, they continue snapping pictures and interviewing villagers, wiping away sweat and trying to forget their fatigue. They both desperately need a shower, but Lois is far too determined to stop for something as trivial as that.
Lois and Tom arrived in Qurac - a small, democratic country in the Middle East- a couple weeks ago. Their trip is certainly not a vacation. In fact, its cause is rather grim, seeing as they are investigating the massacres of several villages near the Quraci border. These heinous acts are grossly undercovered in the news, and Lois plans to change that fact through her job at the Daily Planet. By visiting Qurac, she hopes to find the culprits of the murders and bring them to justice - while incidentally making headlines along the way.
Lois suspects that mercenaries sent from Bialya - Qurac's neighboring country - are behind it all. Bialya is notorious for its belligerence, and has been trying to annex Qurac for years. It was only logical to guess that the massacres act as an ultimatum toward the Quraci government for its...lack of cooperation with Bialya.
There is no proof to support her suspicions just yet. And without proof, it would be impossible to achieve any U.N. intervention, or publish a legitimate story.
So Lois took the initiative. She told her editor about the potential of the story, and as a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist, he wasn't inclined to deny her. The only real setback she faced was Jimmy Olsen's contraction of the flu, which thus left her without her favorite photographer. But she found a replacement and boarded the plane nonetheless.
Now, after a two-week road trip down the Quraci border, she has finally arrived at a small but heavily populated town. It is a welcome change, given the blood-stained, decimated villages she just visited for her story.
Here, there are children running in the streets, enjoying what the populace calls (to Lois's disbelief) "nice weather". A colorful marketplace stretches down an entire street. It is brimming with people as they trade goods, and to Lois's relief, there are many people who speak English. She has struggled with the unique Quraci language for weeks with limited success, and it feels good to use her native tongue again.
Just as she finishes interviewing a middle-aged woman about the country's relations with Bialya, Lois's cell phone begins to ring shrilly. The caller is predictable, but unavoidable. She then excuses herself, thanking the woman and telling Tom to wait for her somewhere, before walking to the outskirts of the little village, where it is much quieter.
She looks out into the nearby desert, which is an expanse of empty, sandy land. It might be beautiful to some people, but not her. Lois is accustomed to city life, not a natural, harsh setting such as thus. Besides, there simply is not enough shade, and she is forced to shield her eyes as she returns her call, seeing as it had long gone to voicemail during her uphill trek to the outskirts. But she couldn't answer it in the middle of the village...not when one considers who she is calling.
Her boyfriend - Lex Luthor. He is the billionaire CEO of a major corporation, which is not something she should mention in a town of people that are most likely suffering economically. Frankly, it's not something she should mention anywhere, unless she felt entirely safe. The last thing Lois wants is to held for ransom in a foreign country.
Lex picks up on the second ring, and he does not waste time with pleasantries.
"Lois? Where are you?" Lex demands. There is honking in the background, so Lois assumes that he is stuck in Metropolis traffic. But she knows that is not the reason he sounds so irritable.
There is a beat, during which she considers lying. She was supposed to fly back today, but instead she decided to stay - hoping to see the story through. Lex is probably furious. Maybe he even waited for her at the airport.
"I'm...working on my tan," she replies finally, deciding against deceit and going with playful crypticism instead.
He sighs audibly - further evidence of his irritation. He has probably guessed at her true location. "I thought you were supposed to be leaving Qurac by now. It's not safe there, you know."
He always talks like this, she notices. Like he knows so much more than she does. It makes her feel small and stupid, and a part of her realizes that this trip's purpose wasn't just to pursue a story, but to escape Lex as well. It's probably why she didn't tell him that she was leaving in the first place. The only notification he received was a half-hearted email from the airport.
In truth, it is hypocritical to be so evasive around Lex simply because she dislikes his personality - especially when he and Lois share many of the same traits. They are both overly arrogant and ambitious, and talk like they know it. This behavior is probably why they were attracted to each other in the first place...why he asked her out during her first interview with him. And yes, he is charming and handsome, in his own unique way. But now that the glamor of dating a billionaire has worn off, Lois is starting to have second-thoughts about their relationship.
She'll never admit that her reluctance is because of their similarities. The qualities they share are the ones that she hates most in herself, and she can't find a way to accept them in her own personality, let alone his.
But she knows she should keep trying to make it work. Her father wants it. She should want it. So she continues letting him be her ball-and-chain, and pretends to enjoy it.
"C'mon, Lex. You can't find good stories in the comfort of an office."
"How long until you leave?" he asks tersely, not even bothering to ask if she's made any progress. He never does.
Lois shrugs, feeling all too trapped in her canvas-material clothes, which make the heat all the more suffocating. "I don't know. Whenever the truth comes out, I guess."
She can almost feel him rolling his eyes. "Does danger mean nothing to you? Staying there could get you killed."
"Me?" she says in mock indignation. "This little army brat can take care of herself. I'm practically invincible. In fact, I'm actually offended by your lack of faith in me."
"Come home. I mean it."
"You didn't say 'please,' you jerk."
It is not uncommon for her to insult him like this. He probably thinks it is mere playfulness - a tease. But that was only true in the beginning. Now, a part of Lois actually means it. After all, he's not requesting or even asking her to come home. He is demanding.
Lex huffs, like it is beneath him to beg. "Please, Lois."
She knows it hurts his dignity to plead with her. And if he decided to do so anyway, it must mean that he cares for her a lot. That should mean something, shouldn't it?
She searches for a proper way to respond. Should she agree to come home? Perhaps. But would she really do that, even if she promises? A part of her thinks not. Maybe she should just tell him she's staying, no matter what he wants.
Lois makes up her mind, and just as she is about to speak, she hears something that completely interrupts her train of thought.
A gunshot. From the village.
"What was that?" Lex yells, alarmed, from the other end.
Concerned with other matters, she hangs up the phone and shoves it into her pocket, spinning around to find the source of the noise.
Suddenly, hundreds of gunshots fill the air, as do a chorus of frantic screams.
Before she even registers what she is doing, Lois is running toward the village, her feet kicking up plumes of desert dust behind her. Her mind is frantic and fearful, and she prays that she has gone crazy - that nothing has happened at all, and she is imagining those horrible sounds.
But she knows what's really going on. She's too cynical to hope for the best.
It is only a short, downhill distance to the center of town, and when Lois arrives, she is horrified by what she sees.
A group of men, each one armed with a machine gun, are raiding the town, shooting indiscriminately. There is a truck in the distance, obscured by airborne dust; it is presumably the transport of the attackers, given the Bialyian flag waving from its antenna.
They are not just mercenaries, she realizes. They are extremist nationalists.
She continues running, desperate to find Tom. As she sprints, she fishes her cell phone out of her pocket and snaps a photo of the truck, hoping that it will be sufficient evidence. It's blurry from distance, but it's all she can manage.
Lois then heads to the shop where she left Tom, yelling his name as she wanders. Her lungs burn from exertion, fear, dust, and heat. Meanwhile, screams drown out any coherent, calming thought she attempts to create. There is too much chaos in the Marketplace for her to think clearly, and too much danger.
The armed Bialyian men are a only a hundred yards away, and approaching fast. It seems the fearful screams from the crowded Marketplace only make it a greater target, and Lois stands smack in the middle of it.
God, she should have gone home when she had the chance. Coming here was a mistake.
But she needs to find Tom. Needs to help these people.
Lois feels unprotected, and silently curses the laws that prohibit the wielding of firearms within Qurac. It seems almost ridiculous, especially considering the danger the country consistently faces from Bialya.
More than anything, though, she curses these armed men.
Lois reaches the door of shop just as they enter the marketplace. BABABABABUM. A spray of bullets go off nearby, and guilt burns at the bit of her stomach - a result of her helplessness. But she does not look. All she knows is that they're not upon her...yet.
Tom is nowhere in sight, and the door of the shop is sealed. She proceeds to pound on it, continuing to yell his name as she does so.
There is no response from inside. Maybe it is better that way. They're safer in there than out here, right? Hell, maybe Tom has left the town entirely.
Lois backs away from the door, now searching desperately for a place to hide, terror like electricity in her veins. Yes, she has been in danger before...but she always had some degree of control. Protection. A gun. A harness. A piece of information to use as blackmail. Right now, she has nothing.
Her mind moves too frantically as she considers her options. Breaking down the door? No. She might expose people inside.
Climb up the building? No. The wall is too smooth.
There might be a cellar in the back of the shop, with an emergency exit. She could probably break in...pick the lock. Yes. That's a good plan.
Just as she is about to run behind the building, she spots a little girl across the street, hiding beneath a cart of goods. The girl's eyes are wide - terrified - and she winces as the bullets continue to fire, deafeningly close now.
Lois glances down the street, where the men are mere feet away. If she is going to run, she must do it now. There is a sharp pang in her heart as she realizes that she will not have time to drag the girl along. If she runs to her, Lois will reveal them both - and that would result in certain death.
Her heart is beating like a drum, and it throbs in her arms...her throat…her head.
There's no time, she thinks as the men grow ever closer, walking through the now-abandoned marketplace undeterred. Once they get close enough, they will see the little girl, and probably Lois too.
Lois can't move. Not with that little girl frozen under the cart.
As his comrades kick their way into houses, eliminating the inhabitants, a man in the group points to that same cart. He says something in Bialyian before running forward, his gun raised.
Lois is still concealed behind a little column on the shop's veranda, but the girl was seen. It was over.
Once the man gets within spitting distance, some sort of animal instinct takes over the girl, and she scrambles out from under the cart, screaming for help. The man runs a bit faster to catch up with her, his eyes level with his gun to aim properly. The weapon cocks. He is about to shoot.
Just as the girl passes her, Lois darts out from behind the column, shielding the girl with her body. The girl keeps sprinting, but yells a warning to her - telling her of danger. Lois knows, of course, but does not heed her words. She just wants to slow him down.
The man reaches Lois a few moments later, and he is taken aback by her boldness and hesitates for a good five seconds - enough time for him to forget about the girl, and focus on the target in front of him. When he begins to shoot, Lois expects it and ducks to the side, the bullets narrowly missing her. There is some timber off to her right, and she lunges at him with it in hand. Luckily, the blow makes it - smacking him in the head - and he staggers backwards before falling ungracefully to the ground.
Exhaling shakily, Lois turns and tries to run after the girl. Perhaps she will make it. Perhaps the girl will too.
Just as hope reappears, a boom echoes through the marketplace, and a bullet tears through the skin of Lois's shoulder, causing her to cry out. She ignores the pain as she keeps running, briefly looking back as she does so. It appears that the man has sat up, and that the bullet came from his gun - a gun that is now clearly out of bullets, as indicated by its inability to fire further.
But the pain in Lois's wound is distractingly excruciating, and before long she is falling - falling forever, it seems. Something caused her to trip; what it was, she'll never know.
When she lands, it is hard and face-first. The sand she topples upon is not nearly as soft as it seems. It proceeds to smash into her skull like any other blunt instrument - except these tiny rocks are sun warmed, and they burn.
The head injury is the worst, though. Lois can feel her mind growing foggy...going unconscious. She cannot bring herself to move, and is only vaguely aware of the blood pooling around her shoulder - a testament to the time that she is quickly losing.
Lois's face is still pressed against the ground, and a desperate part of her screams internally, implacably horrified that she is dying in darkness...that she cannot look at the sun. The same sun that was there when she went to school in Metropolis, or when she got her first job there. The same that rose when she won her first Pulitzer.
Instead, she can only look at this foreign, scorching sand. And even that fades to black.
TO BE CONTINUED...
