Chapter 8
"Perry! I need to talk to you right now!" Lois says, storming into Perry White's office.
The editor-in-chief, well used to his best female reporter's bursts of anger, barely looks up at her and sighs, "Ok, what's going on, Lane."
She slaps a folder down on his desk. 'Puppy Dog eyes' is hand written on its washed blue cover. Lifting up an eyebrow, Perry opens it and finds a few notes about Kent's schedule at the Daily Planet the last few days, copies of dental and medical records, various phone numbers in Kansas, copies of his high school and college transcripts from Smallville High and Kansas State University, where, as Perry already well knew, he earned a 3.95 GPA and a BA in Journalism, and a few other documents and photos. His eyes slowly narrow. Finally he looks at Lois and asks, "Great Ceasar's Ghost, Lois, what on earth is this?!"
"This is everything I could find on Clark Kent. And guess what… Nothing. There's nothing! Like the guy is just perfect. A perfect childhood, a perfect student, a perfect reporter... Then nothing, like he ceased to exist for five years! I can't find any trace of him. His mother won't talk to me and all the cards we got from him while he was gone happened to have been scheduled to be automatically sent from around the world via the internet." To emphasize her point, she puts her two hands on the editor's desk and looks right into his eyes. "Perry, Kent is hiding something from us. I'm pretty sure he didn't take a trip around the world. Something's wrong with him!"
"Lois…"
"Listen, Chief, I don't know what it is but I'll find out. Look, don't you think it's weird that Kent came back at the exact same time Luthor showed up?" Lois begins to pace the floor in front of his desk, chewing a fingernail. She's about to say something else when, to her horror, Perry shuts the folder and tears it into pieces, then throws them in the trash can beside his desk.
"Chief!! What the…"
"Lane, that's enough," he warns her sternly.
"But…" she starts to reply, but is cut off when Perry stands and puts his fists on his desk, glaring at her.
"Clark Kent is one of my best reporters. I chose him, Lois, which means that he was trustworthy then, and he still is now. I don't choose my staff on whims, Lois, and won't as long as I'm head of this paper. Kent is much more worthy than you think he is and I won't allow anyone to mess with him. So now, young lady, you forget all this and leave Kent alone. I don't want to hear that you've been trying to dig up dirt on your partner ever again. Am I understood?"
Lois just nods, swallowing hard, feeling totally small all of a sudden in front of Perry White's cold anger.
"Now get out!! And you'd better use your energy finding me something good on the assignment I gave you yesterday about Luthor and how he managed to pull off this mess. You're working with Kent on this from now on."
She's about to argue but thinks better of it, seeing the deadly glare he flashes at her. Instead she just rushes out the office, tears of shame and frustration threatening to come.
Clark enters the newsroom, late again, but not that much this time. With a quick scan around the bullpen, he's relieved to see that it appears Lois hasn't mentioned her suspicions about him to anyone. The staff is busy; most of his co-workers are ignoring him, a few others barely say hello. As he tunes his hearing into different conversations and noises, seeking anything suspicious, a sudden loud and friendly "Hello, CK!" startles him. Jimmy stands behind him, a great big smile on his face.
Clark waves back shyly and smiles back. "Oh…Hi Jimmy."
"So how's the new apartment?" Jimmy asks, winking at him.
Clark blinks. "Err… It's…I mean… swell!" He flashes a goofy smile at his friend.
Jimmy is about to add something but Perry calls for him from his office, "Olsen! In my office, now!!" The young man's smile drops and he rushes to the editor-in-chief's office, leaving Clark chuckling at the scene.
"Oh, finally up, big boy?" a soft voice asks from behind him.
He turns around to find Lee, her mug full of hot coffee in hand, a cheerful expression on her face. Warmth immediately radiates from his cheeks. Yesterday he left her quite abruptly at her apartment just after they arrived. Having sensed that he had to be alone, she asked nothing, just smiled and gave him a soft kiss on his cheek before she shut her door. Afterward, Clark spent no more than five minutes in his new apartment.
Jimmy was right, it was perfect, lying on the same side of the building as Lee's. Though a small apartment, Clark found it entirely furnished, and there was even a tiny balcony from where he could slip away unnoticed. After the quick rundown of the apartment, he quickly changed into his Superman persona and went to see his mother.
Once in Smallville, Clark could see that she was relieved to see him healthy again, but she was quite worried about Lois. She had received several phone calls from her and she didn't know how to answer her intrusive questions. Clark stayed with his mother all evening long, but he didn't talk about Lee or Jason. Honestly he really didn't know how to explain to his mother that he is now a father and that he left the mother of his child to give birth alone while he was on his glorious trip to hell. And how could he talk about Lee when he still doesn't know where all this is leading him? As he shrugs off his thoughts he realizes that Lee, who is sipping her coffee, is still waiting for his answer.
"Err… Oh… Yes… I mean… I'm sorry… I…" he stammers.
She laughs and says, "Hey, that wasn't a reproach. Would you just stop apologizing for everything? I just wish that I could have had you around this morning to use you as a portable 'heater' while I was waiting for my bus. Did you notice how the temperature dropped today? It's freezing outside! I'm still shivering."
"Yes, you're right… it's getting cold outside… not that I can feel it that much…really," he tries to say. Oh God, won't you stop stammering like an idiot, Kent?
She laughs again and brushes his arm gently with her hand, then heads to her desk. "See you later, big boy. At least can I hope to borrow some of your warmth this evening to get back home?"
"Sure!" he says, finally smiling broadly.
Still smiling, he crosses the bullpen and reaches his desk, but as soon as he sits on his chair, Perry barks from his office, "Kent, come here!" Cringing, he takes his notepad and pen and rushes to the Chief's office.
"Hi, Ch… Sir." He then realizes that Lois is there with Jimmy. "Lois…" he barely whispers, the sudden tension in his voice clear.
"Hi Clark," she replies, almost casually. She gives him a stern look though, then turns her head.
Clark swallows hard. Perry is gazing at the city through the blinds of his windows. After a long and heavy moment of silence, he turns to his reporters, "Kent, from now on I want you working with Lois on Luthor's case. I want a full feature on him. We all know what he's done with this New Krypton…" Clark cringes inside at that name again. "…but what I want to know is how he managed it; how he came up with the stones to make it possible..."
Clark and Jimmy both snicker at that.
Perry just glares at them both. "You know what I mean."
"Crystals, Chief," Lois says, somewhat politely. Clark notices that. Hmm, she's never nice to Perry White.
"Whatever… I want to know everything. Maybe there's something that could lead us to where ever the bastard is now." He looks at Clark then turns his focus to the photographer, "Jimmy, your article about the police van attack was crap!" Jimmy becomes white as a sheet and ducks into his chair, but Perry adds, "… so maybe hanging around with this pair of reporters might help you improve some…" He sees a spark of light flash in Olsen's eyes.
"Yes, Sir! Thanks Sir!!"
Lois rolls her eyes. Now that's something. Hanging around with Mister-I-am-a-perfect-mystery and the camera-kid… Perry must be really mad at me.
A few hours later, Lois is at her desk with Jimmy seated on one edge and Clark leaning on the other. They spent the whole morning exchanging their notes and ideas about Luthor's case. Clark seems to relax a little as Lois acts like nothing happened yesterday. He wonders if maybe she's given up, finding nothing about him. He had always paid special attention to doing things right as Clark Kent, to not draw any unnecessary attention to himself, so there shouldn't have been anything for Lois to uncover, apart from those post cards… He had been a little naïve to think that no one would look at them more closely, but really, five years ago, who really cared that much about him? Even Lois, the only one who was close to him then, was too lost in her troubled relationship with Superman to give Clark a second thought. She made it clear that Clark Kent could never be part of her life, and he knew that Superman couldn't truly have a love or a personal life. He thought that the cards would be a good idea to keep in touch in some way and maybe help him regain his position with the Daily Planet if he ever came back to Earth, but now he wishes that he had never had them sent. Lost in his thoughts again, he suddenly realizes that Lois is asking him something. "Uh, hmm… What did you say?"
Lois rolls her eyes. "I said that we just shared all our notes, I gave you my most detailed report on what happened on the boat and Luthor's scheme, you gave your theory about how NK grew from the ocean… But that needs to come from Superman directly. I seriously doubt you have any expertise concerning Kryptonian technology…"
Clark shifts nervously from his corner of the desk at that statement. Lois continues, "Now, where does this all bring us? I think we absolutely need to talk to Superman about this."
"I… I don't know if he has any answers for us, apart from his knowledge of that twisted piece of rock... I mean… He'd only just come back to Earth the day of the first electromagnetic pulse and…" Clark stammers.
Jimmy cuts him off suddenly, "Wait a minute… The EMP… The first one I mean, we never really found out what caused it, did we?"
Lois's eyes widen. "Oh my God! How could I have forgotten that!! My research led me directly to Luthor's lair at the Vanderworth mansion where that yacht was docked. I never got the chance to investigate any more there…"
"Well, I guess that's where we should start our investigation right now!" Clark says, already heading to his desk to grab his coat. How could I have missed that? The first EMP… He should have remembered that right away! Not only did his damned trip to Krypton make him weaker and almost kill him, but it seems to have affected his mind too. He crosses the central aisle of the bullpen, not aware that Lois and Jimmy have quite a hard time following him at this pace. They soon disappear into the elevators.
When they arrive at the Vanderworth property, Lois parks her car in the front drive, remembering that awful day when she dragged Jason along on her adventure. What was she thinking that day? She put his life in danger and almost got them both killed. If it hadn't been for the help of Richard first, then Superman... Disgusted by her selfish behavior, she shrugs off her thoughts and joins the two guys who are already climbing up the steps of the main entrance.
"The place seems to be totally deserted," Clark says after having scanned the area discreetly with his x-ray vision. He found nothing inside but realizes that he has trouble seeing through the walls because there seems to be some slight amount of lead in them, surely the old paint used to cover them initially. Yet he's absolutely sure that no one is inside or anywhere close by.
"Ok, what are we waiting for then?" Lois says, pushing the two men aside and taking an expert look at the lock. She rummages through her purse and finds her special lock pick that Clark knows all too well. He remembers when she first showed it to him almost seven years ago. He can still feel the claws of the huge dog that threw himself at them when she opened the door of the warehouse they were investigating… He'd had to launch himself between her and the animal and take the assault on his arm. Although he didn't feel anything more than firm pressure on his arm, he had to run like a frightened idiot to get the dog away from Lois. He cracks a smile at that last thought.
With the lock picked open, Lois opens the door, and it creaks on its hinges. Jimmy suddenly grabs her by the arm. "Wait a minute! Shouldn't there be a security system in a place like this?"
Clark peers inside and takes a few careful steps. He looks around and finally finds the security console, which looks to be in bad shape. All the electronic circuits have melted. "Looks like we won't be bothered by it, I guess."
The three gather cautiously together and enter the main vestibule. Clark, who has scanned the entire building, knows that there's nothing serious to be found upstairs, but something has caught his attention in the basement, more of an impression as there's too much lead for his vision to be clear. He says, "Jimmy, why don't you go upstairs with Lois, I'll try the basement."
Not too happy about letting Kent wander around alone, Lois climbs the stairs reluctantly, followed closely by Jimmy, who's still a bit uneasy about being in this place. Clark finds the entrance of the basement easily and takes the stairs down with extra care. When he reaches the bottom, it takes him a few seconds to adjust his vision to the dim atmosphere. Looking at the place a little more closely, Clark realizes that light is filtering in through a breach in the ceiling. A huge stony structure stands in the middle of what seems to be a destroyed model railroad, reaching up through the hole. Clark immediately registers its shape and his eyes widen in shock. His breath becoming uneasy, he steps back slowly but soon realizes that this thing doesn't have any kryptonite enclosed in it.
Still, something is wrong. He stays unmoving a few minutes, as if hypnotized. Visions of the beating on New Krypton flash through his mind, making him nauseous, but he quickly shrugs off the thought, concentrating on the monstrosity before him.
He takes a few steps forward and almost touches the closest chunks of dark crystal, but his fingers stop just a few inches from them. A thumping rumble seems to come from the structure, slowly becoming louder. At first he doesn't hear it; it's just a vague impression. But gradually the vibration becomes clearer, louder, and grows into a piercing sound, forcing him to wince. He slowly steps back, putting his right hand over his ear to soothe the disturbing sound but the pulse seems to find its way directly into his mind. Soon the pain becomes unbearable as the pulse, now regular and loud in his head, makes his thoughts erratic. A countdown... It's a countdown! is all his now shattered mind is able to think as his knees give away.
Lois and Jimmy run down the stairs and to the back of the vestibule as soon as they hear the cries. Lois frantically opens the basement door and screams, "Clark!!"
The reporter is lying on the upper end of the stairs, hunched forward, crying in pain, holding his head in both hands. She launches herself at him and cautiously puts her hands on his shoulders, "Clark! What's wrong?! What happened?! Please, Talk to me!" She sees, horrified, blood dripping from his ears and his nose. She then hears a low noise coming from the basement like a muffled roar, no more than a whisper. Jimmy is petrified.
Still holding his head and writhing in pain, Clark manages to say, "... a bomb... Get out... it's a bomb! Ahhhh..." The pulse is now so intense that his mind goes numb and everything slowly fades to black.
Lois feels her partner suddenly become limp in her arms. "Clark? Oh God, Clark!! Jimmy, help me! We need to get him out of here!! NOW!!"
Jimmy snaps out of his paralyzed state and rushes to help Lois. They lift the unconscious reporter, each one taking an arm around their shoulders, and get out the mansion as fast as they can.
BOOM!!
