Chapter 2
The door opened without her needing to touch it. Lex and Mrs. Cox were lying on what would be Luthors' bed. The two were having sex. She was tied, and he kept his hand around her throat; then suddenly, Lois found herself tied without being able to move. "She's just a little too independent, don't you think? Well, I'll take care of that... I'll take care of that." Lex's voice resounded in her mind. "Lois won't moan with you, like she does with me..." and now Lex was standing in front of Clark and he pointed a gun at Clark's head. "I direct the play..." and now he pulled the trigger.
In the same moment, Lois found herself sitting up in bed trembling; a moan slipped from her lips. "Clark!"
"I'm here..." He held her in his arms, stroking her hair. "It's over... It's all over..."
She felt his hand massage her back. What a strange feeling... The hand was heavy enough to make her feel protected and safe, but quite light so as not to make her feel discomfort.
It was a while before he felt her calm down. He helped her to lay down again, as if she'd been a baby, and he gave her a very light kiss on her forehead.
"If you need anything... I'm right here. OK?!" She nodded and he slipped into his bed.
After several minutes Lois was still awake. Clark had stayed awake to listen to her breathing for a while. Despite the fact that she was not asleep, Lois tried not to move so as not to disturb him.
"Lois, are you awake?" That was a useless question.
"Yeah..."
"Listen... do you want... I mean would you feel better... if you slept next to me? I mean... Without..."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"Well. I... I think so... but if you're uncomfortable..."
"Hey... If you make me uncomfortable, I'll tell you!"
Lois got up and slipped into his bed. She lay facing him. "You don't know how much it means for me..."
"Don't think about it... Now try to sleep. It must be after two..."
" 'night, Clark."
" 'night, Lois."
He kissed her again, this time on the mouth, a fast, light kiss, as if she were a child. She stayed peaceful, held in his embrace. He felt her breath on his own body. It was so good to hold her in his arms. She was soft and warm, a warmth he'd never felt before, a heat that made something move in him, and, now, not only metaphorically! Clark felt deeply embarrassed, waiting for Lois to start yelling out offense that he wasn't sure he didn't deserve.
Lois realized what was happening and that Clark's responses were very much prompted by their positions, tightly pressed against each other.
She'd known that Clark was in love with her. He'd demonstrated it more and more each time that day. She knew that if she moved away just now, she was going to embarrass him and hurt him, so, instead of the reaction he was waiting for, she held him tighter, and leaned on his chest. She fell asleep, without caring about anything else.
Clark lay awake for a while. God, this woman made him feel some new feeling every time he was with her. He wanted so much to hold her this way forever, without making her go away. To protect her from the world, from the people, from everyone who hurt her. It was almost magical sleeping next to her.
-OOOO-
Clark woke at the first light of sunrise; he realized that during the night Lois had changed her position. Now she faced away from him, but she was still held in his embrace. Then he flushed as he realized the position they shared. One hand held the woman that he loved around the waist, as she did the same with him, slipping her arm under his larger one. Clark wondered how she could do it without hurting herself in that position.
His left hand was resting on her breast. Clark was resisting the urge to slip it away in a hurry when he realized that Lois' hand kept his hand pushed against her, against her own curves.
Gently Clark moved Lois' hand from his body. Her position was almost unnatural, as if she'd done a hurried movement, and she might hurt herself. That move, despite being made with the utmost care was perceived by Lois' body so that she moved slightly. And if his right arm tried to move itself without putting up resistance, her left hand tightened her grip on their clasped hands to lay on her breast, against her heart.
Clark felt her awaken.
"Good morning."
"Hi!" she answered, without moving.
"We don't have to get up yet, right?"
"No... It's still quite early."
"I'd hoped so... I didn't make you uncomfortable... I mean... I let you sleep, didn't I?"
"I slept like a baby... and you?"
"Me too... I don't remember sleeping this well in years." She felt him smile into her hair. She pushed back at him, still without turning. "Clark?"
"What?"
"Where have you been all this time?" He smiled again.
"Next to you..." was the answer.
"And why didn't I notice it...?"
"I hide myself quite well..." This time it was her turn to smile.
"Will you forgive me?"
"What for?"
"For the way I treated you all this time... I hurt you... and instead you were always there... like now..."
Clark smiled. "Well, not like now..." She turned her head, but not toward him; she gave him a kiss on the arm that was holding her.
"You know the thing that hurts me most about this whole thing? I was scared I'd lost you... and I didn't understand why it hurt me so much. Clark, I didn't realize how much..." She took a deep breath before continuing. Clark felt her tears rolling down his arm. "I love you..." she whispered.
Clark held her tightly, sinking his face into her hair. "I love you too, Lois, more than anything else in the world..." He paused. She kept kissing his arm, little light kisses. "But here is something I have to tell you. I need you to know... Lois, I would never lie to you... but I have kept something from you." He felt her tense against his own body. "Lois, I'm Superman..." He heaved a sigh of relief, waiting for her reaction, a reaction that didn't come. "Are you OK?" He raised his head to stare at her and he saw her smiling through the tears.She turned her head until she met his gaze, Then she turned herself, hiding her face between his shoulder and his neck. He sweetly made her raise her gaze to meet his eyes again.
"Hey..." Then he gave her a kiss on her mouth and his thumbs wiped her tears. "Why the tears?"
"Have you any idea how many times I hoped you were... no... that Superman'd be you... and now I feel even worse for the way I have treated you... for the way I have treated both of you... I mean..."
"I understand... but now we're together, right? The past is... past... now we're here... you and me."
Lois stretched to kiss him, sweetly and deeply, a tender and passionate kiss that made them loose their sense of time and space. Clark, without realizing it, started to float and she also, held in that embrace. At first she didn't realize it, then after a while she opened her eyes and looked at the mattress a foot below her. "Clark!" she laughed, unable to help it.
"Sorry..." He smiled, embarrassed, as he floated them back down.
"Well, wow... I mean... wow!" A sudden noise came from downstairs, it made them jump. Clark looked with his x-ray vision.
"It's only Perry, he dropped a pot..."
"I hate to say it, but... it'll be better if we get up!"
"I know you're right, but..."
"Come on, Lazybones!!" She tugged on his arm.
"Five minutes..."
"Nahhh. I want to start my new life..." Then her voice became shaky, "Our life."
"You can count on it, honey!" Clark kissed her, got up, then offered his hand to her to help her do the same.
"Want to race to see who will get downstairs first?"
"I'll go for that." Lois started to run before he gave the signal to start, but Clark made up a couple of feet at superspeed.
"It's not fair, you cheated!" They stopped in front of Perry, at work with a pot. Lois had won. She turned glowing eyes toward Clark, but her smile disappeared suddenly. "The glasses!" she whispered so low that only his super-hearing could catch it. After a second Clark was next to her, putting them on his nose. She smiled, trying to be serious when Perry turned to them.
"Did I wake you?"
"No. We were talking..."
"I hope you slept well... because today is going to be a very hard day..."
Lois sobbed. "I've got to look for an apartment!"
"Why?!"
"All my stuff is... for more than a week... it's at... at that place... yeah... I mean... Lex's place. I brought all of it... and I know my place was already rented..."
"You can stay at my place for a while. Alice and I are in Florida, the house is half empty... and besides I prefer to stay here... for a couple of days..."
Clark remained quiet for a moment. "The apartment next to mine is empty... I could ask… if you want..."
"Are you sure? I mean... Yes... Of course..."
"Well... a little later I'll try to ask my landlord..." Lois impulsively kissed him. Then she pulled herself away, remembering about Perry. She saw he was looking at them, smiling. Lois' eyes sparkled with embarrassment as Clark held her to him.
"We've got to wake the guys. We've got to stop Luthor... quickly ... we've got to find a way to get our paper back!"
"What?" Lois was confused.
"Lois, Clark'll explain it all to you later but... We found evidence that all Luthor told you was... well, it wasn't the truth... From the destruction of the Planet he earned a heap of money... and he bribed the board of directors of the company to make them sell..."
"It's all my fault then. It's true. I mean... I tried to understand... what he said yesterday. I was too independent... he was trying to take away my independence... wasn't he?"
Perry looked at her and Clark caressed her head. "I don't feel you were very important in his life... Power, that's the only thing he cares for... and the Planet was too big of a risk... he had a web of evil skillfully built around him... there is always a fall guy and he gets away clean. 'Game Over'... Now stop worrying about it... I mean Al Capone was arrested for tax evasion... It just means we need to find a starting point."
Together they outlined a strategy: first they needed to get Jack out of trouble Clark reassured them, saying that Superman would talk with Inspector Henderson about going easy on Jack for his escape. Then Superman would tell all he knew, and knowing Henderson, he would surely help. Lois and Clark were going to plan Lois' moving, making sure to cut all possible ties to Lex Luthor. Perry, Jack and Jimmy were going to investigate on their own the dealings with the Planet's board of directors.
-OOOO-
Lois shivered at the thought of entering Lex Towers again. In spite of everything, the preparations for the wedding were going on without pause.
"I... I didn't warn my mother... this time she'll kill me!"
Clark smiled. "Do you think so?" She nodded. Clark noticed the security guard phone someone as soon as they came in. That was to be expected. He was just doing his job. Lois realized that the security guard wasn't the same one who was there yesterday; she thought that her little 'surprise' must have cost him his job. They went up to the fifteenth floor, where her furniture was supposed to be.
Her whole apartment was recreated there. Lois remembered that in Luthor's bomb shelter there was another perfect copy of her apartment. Seeing this made her shiver. "I'll have to change my furniture as soon as possible," she thought.
"Where are we going to start?" He moved his glasses slightly down his nose and looked around; then he moved closer to Lois.
"There are three bugs and four micro-television cameras in this room alone," he whispered in her ear.
"What?"
"I guess that we've got a very big job ahead of us... come on... pack the stuff you want to take away immediately... Superman said that he will come and get the rest himself." Lois gazed at him, smiling.
"Thanks." She looked ruefully at the large pile of boxes and grinned at him. "Saved my life." Then her expression grew more serious. "Just like he always does, huh?" she said quietly.
"I don't know... I guess so..."
She started to pack her suitcases and Clark helped to pack her stuff. Carefully, they avoided the closet containing her underwear. Lois tried to do it as fast she could. Clark looked at his watch and Lois, nodding in agreement, said, "You've got to go or you'll be late... don't worry about me... I'll wait for Superman. He'll be here any minute now... I'm going to be fine."
"OK... I'd rather stay here.., but..."
"Clark, work is work... go... I'll be all right."
"If that's what you want."
"See you later..."
Clark left the room, careful not to move too fast but still trying to get away from the building as quickly as possible. Lois saw him in the street when she opened the windows for her "guest."
At the same moment that Clark disappeared around the corner, the apartment door opened.
"Lex!" Lois jumped when she saw him. They had expected this. They both knew that he wouldn't let her get away without fight. "What do you want?"
"What do I want...? I want you... I desire you... you don't know how much..."
"And Mrs. Cox? How much do you desire her?"
"She means nothing, you know..."
"Well, she was the one you 'played' with and that was only yesterday... I'm to be replaced so quickly too?"
"Darling, it's the jealousy that's making you talk this way..."
"You hurt me... and I didn't deserve it..."
"Darling, let me explain..."
'Clark, how long do you need...?' "I don't want to listen to anything you have to say!"
Lois kept moving back until she found the wall. Lex was able to see the fear in her eyes, and this made him feel that victory was within his grasp. His hand covered her mouth. Instinctively Lois' hands covered her body as if she was naked.
"Now you will be quiet as we talk..." Lois felt Lex's other hand settle on her shoulder and she moaned. "And you are not going to cry out... because we need to talk business... you know what I might offer to you... what do you want? The Planet? It's yours... think about it... back in the newsroom again, your friends... you care for your friends, isn't it true, Lois?" He didn't wait for the answer as he moved his hand from her mouth and started to slip it down her body. "You don't want anything to happen to Jack, or Cat, or Jimmy, or Perry" - he paused - "or maybe to Clark... or your sweet little sister, do you?"
"Please, Lex!" 'Clark help me... Help!'
"So... I can see that you're starting to understand. How do you like this deal: you'll have all this... and I'll have you..." One hand started to fondle her, as the other... kept slipping down her body. "You know there are so many accidents... Think about it: your little sister that walks alone around town..."
"Lex... don't make me do this!"
"I believe that this will be fun... I don't really want to wait until the wedding..." His hand started to go down her leg, slipping under her skirt. Lois tried to struggle, but he stopped her. "You know, the more you are kind to me, the more she'll avoid being mugged, kidnapped, raped... accidents, murder..." The tears rolled down her face when his hand moved into the waistband of her panties.
A sudden gust of wind broke the scene. A second later Lex had been pitched to the other side of the room.
"Superman!"
Clark embraced her, but a strange buzzing sounded in his brain.
"I'm taking you away!" he told her. But Lex put himself in front of them.
"I don't think so... Superman!" With this Luthor pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Superman's chest.
"You know that bullets have no effect on me!"
"Well, try this!" At that instant the gun fired and Clark felt the shot penetrate his shoulder. A second later a second shot followed the first. This time the pain was very close to his heart. Superman swayed as Lois tried to break his fall, accompanying him to the floor.
"No...!" Lois was desperate. She had never seen so much blood from wounds like these. Lex stood next to them, laughing.
"Maybe... Am I making a mistake? Will the pain of losing the challenge that you represent be worse than the pain of constantly losing to you? Nah!" Then he turned to Lois. "Why don't you think again about my proposal... maybe after you see your big hero die, you'll change your mind." Lex locked the door behind himself as he left.
Lois couldn't turn her eyes from Clark. She caressed his face without being able to speak, and, at the same time, trying with an effort not to call out his name.
The pain made him convulse. The blood kept pouring out of his wounds. Lois closed her eyes, trying for a moment to find the calm, clear-headed thinking she knew she needed. She opened her closet, looking for a towel. The move had not duplicated everything in her apartment and it took a few seconds to find a towel. When she found it, she pressed it tightly on his wounds, trying to stop the blood. Clark convulsed, trying not to cry out in his pain.
She stretched her hand to her bag to grab her cell phone. Instead of calling the police she called the only people that would be able to help her. All the while Clark was becoming weaker and weaker.
"Dad... I'm at Luthor Towers. Lex shot Superman... he's hurt... please... help me!"
"What? Try to calm down, princess... How did it happen?"
"Lex shot him with a Kryptonite bullet ... it is the only thing able to hurt him... the Kryptonite radiations are killing him..."
"Where was he hit?"
"One is in his shoulder, the other is lower... I don't know. Maybe it's near the heart... I don't know... there's too much blood..." Clark kept calling her name and each time it got softer and softer. She pushed the towel against the wounds.
"Lois, there is just one thing to do. You've got to extract the bullets..."
"But how... what do I do?"
"You must grab them with your fingers... you'll hurt him... but you are his only hope... maybe if you get the Kryptonite away from his body..."
Lois knew that Lex had television cameras and bugs there. He was going to be here in a few seconds if he realized that she was able to communicate with the outside world.
She'd have to stop Lex before he stopped her.
She got up quickly and went to the furniture nearest the door. She tried to move it, but it was too heavy for her. She tried to overturn it. It was not easy, but she did it. This would hinder Lex if he tried to open the door. Then she turned to Clark. He was so pale. She realized that he had stopped calling her name. She ran next to him and stroked his hair.
"I know I'll hurt you, but..." She took a deep breath and pushed her fingers into his shoulder. He was wracked with pain. The Kryptonite radiation made the bullet glow so that it was easier to locate. She was able to catch it with the tips of her fingers and slipped it out slowly.
Doctor Lane's yells were heard coming from her cell phone. "Honey!"
Lois picked up the phone.
"What!?"
"Honey, what's happening?"
"I took out the first bullet."
"Good work, my darling, but be careful... check to see that there isn't any shrapnel and that the bullets are undamaged!!! Otherwise the effort is wasted."
Lois cleaned the bullet that was stained with Clark's blood on her dress. It was totally undamaged, but Clark was not getting any better.
She repeated the operation with the second, but it was much deeper. She felt her stomach turn. "I'm sorry... but there's no other way..." Then she felt it. A sudden noise against the door made her jump.
Lex was here. She had to do this quickly. She had to grab the bullet and slip it out.
A deep breath accompanied the extraction of the second bullet. Lois checked it, and it too was undamaged. She grabbed both of them and threw them out of the window as far as possible. It was at that time that she heard police sirens coming nearer.
Lois dragged Clark's body out of sight. She didn't want him to be too exposed should Lex enter. She watched as the door fell under the blows of a fire extinguisher and she trembled when the man crossed the threshold.
"This isn't good, baby... at the very least I might hurt you... and you don't want that, do you?" Lois stood in front of Lex, who, with that gun in his hand, wanted to shoot Superman again.
"I'm not going to let you do it! I won't allow you to kill him!"
"Aren't you? And how you are going to stop me?"
"I'll use every way possible!"
"Marry me... and all the people you care for will be safe... obviously I'll kill Superman... but all the others will live!"
"You are crazy!"
"And you are boring me!" Lex caught her throat. Lois tried to defend herself with martial arts, but Lex was quicker. She felt the hand of the man she hated held against her throat while the gun started to move slowly on her body.
Lois moaned "No..."
"Meanwhile..." Lois tried, vainly, to escape. The grasp at her throat started to become a stranglehold.
Lex pointed the gun where he thought Clark would be, but, much to his surprise, his hated enemy was not there. At the same moment, there was a sudden gust of wind, and in a matter of seconds, Lex was disarmed, pulled away from Lois, and tied up with some sheets.
Lois felt a little faint, but Clark caught her in his arms and put her on the bed.
"Are you feeling all right?" She asked starting to choke, a natural reaction to her almost strangulation. Lois stroked his shoulder. The wounds were totally healed, but she did notice two big holes in the "Suit."
"Yes... I'm fully recovered... and you?"
"Fine." She stared at him for a while. Then she slipped against him, holding him tight. "I was scared I was losing you... for ever." She whispered so that Lex couldn't hear. Police cars stopped in front the building.
From the street Clark recognized Inspector Henderson's voice.
"Wait here... I'll be back in a bit." Two minutes later Clark was there again.
"I gave the Inspector the details about what happened here. It was a break for us that Luthor recorded everything. I told the police where we are... They're going to be here in a while..."
-OOOO-
Hours later, the band regrouped at Clark's place. Lois was not able to bring her stuff away. It would all be released to her in a few days after the investigation was complete. She, however, planned to buy something new in a store near the Planet, and she decided that she wouldn't live in a place that had another copy of her stuff in the vaults of Luthor Tower. She decided to change.
Superman spoke for a long time with Inspector Henderson. He told him about Jack, the way he had been framed. He told him some things about Lex, things that he wasn't able to prove, but he knew that they might be used by the police to keep him in jail and hopefully throw away the key.
Jack was cleared of all charges in a couple of days.
Perry spent his days discussing things with the new owner of the Planet. They were going to rebuild it again. Totally. But they were going to keep the same team, except for Cat, who preferred to keep her job on TV. This was probably going to be the last evening that everybody would be sleeping at Clark's place.
They partied until around 3 o'clock.
Lois and Clark slept, as they had the previous night, holding each other.
Clark awoke during the night and found Lois gazing at him.
"Hi..."
"Did I wake you?"
"I like to be awakened by you."
" I like watching you sleep ."
"Something's bothering you?" Lois smiled, embarrassed.
"Just a little... I can't help thinking about Lex. I mean... How did I make such a big mistake with him...? I'm a reporter... it's my job to understand what people hide... but I let myself be dazzled by a little luxury and a little of power... and then I think of you... I didn't realize who you were... and I let myself be dazzled by a cape and gold 'S'..."
"Lois, people often see what they want to see. It was all right to think that Lex was a good person... and you deserve it... because you deserve only the best!"
"I have the best... I'm with you now. Even though I don't believe I deserve you really..."
"Lois... it's late..."
"You wanted to sleep, didn't you? I'm sorry..."
"I didn't say so... but to tell you the truth... I don't want to talk..."
"Clark!" Lois flushed and thanked the dark. "I never believed you were so... Farmboy... you keep surprising me..."
Clark kissed her, a sweet and passionate kiss. Lois realized that they had started to float again, but this time she said nothing. From the floating position, they could see Metropolis. The town was incredibly silent, and the color of the lights illuminated their embrace.
"The city is so pretty at this time of night."
"The most beautiful I've ever seen..." Clark answered, smiling and looking toward her. Lois kissed him, and that kiss was the true beginning of their new life.
The End
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