Collateral Damage

Folc4evernaday | Rated: M | Chapter 10

The room was filled with chaos. "I don't believe it. He just came out and admitted it!" Jimmy exclaimed. He looked around the room skeptically. "Something isn't right here."

"I smell a rat with the last name Luthor," Clark muttered bitterly.

"There has to be more to it than this," Lois whispered. "We're dealing with a Luthor here. Nothing is as it seems."

"You got that right."

They watched as Leslie stood calmly at the podium and began to address the crowd once more. "I'm sure you all have many questions, and I can assure you that I will do my best to answer all your concerns. I know it's a bit hard to take in. The name Lex Luthor has not earned any brownie points over the years, but rest assured I will do everything in my power to rectify that point." He turned to a small man that was standing next to him. "Mr. Chairman?"

"It is with great honor that we rename our Ocean Avenue Resort, Lexor Resorts. Mr. Luthor has just purchased the entire chain."

"All of the rooms will come with free amenities. The cost will not fall on the consumer any longer." Leslie smiled at the crowd. Everyone, except for Lois and Clark, cheered. Jimmy was still in shock over the entire ordeal with Lois to respond.

"Well, he's obviously got something the crowd likes," Lois muttered.

"Yeah, money. He's throwing it at them," Clark responded dryly. He watched as Leslie made his way into the crowd. "I think it's time I had a chat with Mr. Luthor."

"Clark, please don't do anything rash," Lois pleaded with him.

Clark smiled and kissed her. "Remember who you're talking to."

Jimmy sat on the steps of the hotel in shock. The name, Lex Luthor Jr., still sent chills down his spine. Though he hadn't endured personal hardships with Lex Sr., he still was unnerved by the name.

"Jimmy?" A young female voice interrupted his thoughts. He looked up and saw Penny standing before him.

"Penny? Wha-What are you doing here?"

"I needed to talk to you. It's important. I called the Planet, and they said you were in Atlantic City; so here I am."

"You flew all the way over here just to talk to me?" he asked skeptically.

"I came across some information regarding my old boss. I thought you could use it," Penny replied shyly. "And I wanted to see you."

"Penny, I appreciate your help, but you do understand that I'm not Superman, right?"

Penny stared at him, completely dumbfounded. He was still denying his alter-ego. She would play along. Maybe one day he would be ready to admit the truth to her. She had to regain his trust. She had come on to him too hard, and now he was gun-shy. That was understandable. "Of course, Jimmy. I came to see you."

Jimmy sighed in relief. He really did like Penny. He just needed to know she cared about him – Jimmy Olsen – not Superman. "What have you got?"

"The books that were found by the police? The ones that implicated Walter O'Neal in that embezzlement scheme with all those other CEOs and connected him to the Annihilator? They aren't in the Diticom system."

"What?"

"I was the one in charge of those books, Jimmy. Someone created a false document implicating Walter O'Neal."

"But why would someone want to do something like that?"

"Because they wanted to cover their own tracks?" Penny offered.

"Do you have proof of this?"

"I printed everything off my computer then headed over here." She patted the envelope in her hands.

"We gotta show this to Lois and CK. If this is true, then whoever is behind this might also be behind those deaths with the Pulse Converter."

"But I thought the police confiscated the Pulse Converter when Mr. Grady was arrested."

"The one they have in lock up turned out to be a fake. Lois and CK know more about it than I do. Come on." He grabbed her hand and urged her to follow him inside.

Leslie stepped off the elevator and headed towards his room. He was mildly surprised to find Clark waiting for him outside his hotel room. "Ah, Clark, what can I do for you?"

"I wanted to finish our conversation from earlier." There was a chill in his voice that Leslie had not heard before. "Luthor."

"Ah, yes." He unlocked the door and opened it. Clark stepped inside. "Won't you come in," Leslie muttered under his breath.

Clark ignored the remark, keeping his gaze on Leslie as he closed the door. "You said earlier that Lois put you in your place."

"Yes."

"You forgot to mention the part where you decided to manhandle her while she screamed for you to STOP," he hissed as he approached Leslie. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

"Clark, as I said beforehand, I am truly apologetic. I don't know what came over me. It will never happen again." Leslie unconsciously took a step backward as Clark advanced forward.

"Let's be clear with one another so this mistake never happens again, shall we?" Clark was right in Leslie's face. They were a few inches apart as Clark grabbed Leslie by the collar. "If you so much as breathe the wrong way in Lois' direction, or my child's for that matter, I will snap your neck like a twig. Are we clear? I don't care who the hell you are or who your damn father is, or was. No one, and I mean NO ONE, hurts Lois."

Clark threw Leslie to the ground and left the room. He had certainly underestimated Clark Kent in his plan. His eyes narrowed as he watched the reporter walk down the hall through his room's peephole. He wouldn't make that mistake again. Clark Kent was protective of his wife. This much was evident. How could he use this knowledge to his advantage?

"Mr. White?" a soft voice called, echoing through the room. The lights were bright. Where was he? "Mr. White?"

"What?" Perry muttered, looking around uncertainly.

"Your wife is here to see you," the nurse replied. Once he nodded, she left. Perry faded in and out of consciousness.

"Perry?"

"Alice?" he mumbled incoherently.

"You lunkhead! I told you one day this job was going to kill you!"

"Huh?"

"Do you even know what's going on?"

"I love you, Alice," he mumbled, surrendering to unconsciousness once more.

Lois sat in the dining hall, staring at the plate of food in front of her, unable to convince herself to eat. She wasn't sure what had made her do it. She had called the office to check in. It was a perfectly normal thing to do. Ralph had answered the phone. After his usual snide remarks, he had told her something she had never thought she'd hear. Perry was in the hospital. She didn't even hear the rest of the conversation. She had just hung up, unable to say or do anything. She hadn't even heard Clark when he had sat down next to her. "Lois?"

Perry was in the hospital. He had had a heart attack. Perry had always seemed so invincible. He was always in control. He seemed to monitor his health okay but obviously not enough. "Lois, honey, what's wrong? You're scaring me." Clark's worried voice interrupted her thoughts.

Lois couldn't hold it in any longer. The tears fell down her face at their own accord. "Honey, what's wrong?" He pulled her into his arms, trying to soothe her the best he knew how.

"I called the office; Perry's in the hospital," she said in-between tears.

"What?" His body stiffened against her cheek. She looked up at him and saw his face go pale. "When? How?" Perry had always been a good friend to both, acting as a surrogate father in some instances.

"Ralph said he had a heart attack in the middle of the newsroom when Leslie – Lex – was revealing himself to the world." Lois shuddered; the mere mention of the name Lex still sent chills down her spine. "Clark, I'm so worried about Perry. We need to get back."

"Our flight doesn't leave until this afternoon." Clark sighed, pulling her into his arms. "All that's left is your basic mingling stuff. We can just skip that if you're not up to it."

"Lois, CK, we've got something." Jimmy walked up to their table with Penny in tow.

"Jimmy, hi, sit down." Lois swiped at the few tears that had escaped during her plea to Clark. "Hi, Penny."

"Lois, are you okay? What's wrong? Is it the baby? Oh, my God!" Jimmy began imagining all the worst-case scenarios in his head before Lois and Clark could respond.

"No, no, Jimmy, it's nothing like that," Clark reassured him.

"It's just hormones. You know us, crazy pregnant women." Lois gave a watery smile, trying to cover. She really didn't want to tell Jimmy about Perry right now. She'd prefer to tell him when they got to Metropolis.

"What's wrong?" Jimmy asked; she wasn't fooling anyone.

"I really don't want to talk about it right now."

"What did you find out?" Clark asked, trying to steer the conversation to a more neutral subject.

"Oh, it's actually what Penny found out." He gestured to the blonde sitting next to him. "Go ahead."

"As you both know, I was working in the secretary pool at Diticom. I was in charge of the books. The supposed evidence they found implicating Mr. Grady and Walter O'Neal in embezzlement was faked. Those numbers were never in the original documents," Penny explained.

"How can you be sure?" Lois asked. "I mean, what if the numbers you had were fakes."

"Diticom has never worked with O'Neal Industries. Then, when Mr. Grady was arrested, Walter O'Neal's name magically appeared in all the books in Mr. Grady's office. Nothing from our system shows where those books came from." Penny watched as Lois and Clark exchanged a look, seemingly saying something to one another.

"Sounds like a definite cover-up," Lois stated matter-of-factly. "Jimmy, call Inspector Henderson and see what you can find out about their case against Walter O'Neal. Also, I want you to dig up everything you can on Leslie Luckabee, Luckabee Enterprises, Lex Luthor Jr, Lex Corp, Walter O'Neal, and O'Neal Industries."

Jimmy quickly jotted down the names as Lois shot them out. "Anything else?"

"Make sure you're on the same flight as us this afternoon," Lois added. "I'll explain later." She watched them leave and sighed with relief. "I don't know how we're going to tell him."

"I'm sure, Perry will be fine," Clark whispered, kissing her cheek.

"Perry?" Alice watched as Perry slowly opened his eyes.

"Alice? What are you doing here? Where-where am I?" He tried to sit up but found himself tangled in wires and tubes. He seemed to register the fact that he was in a hospital, but he didn't know why.

"A guy named Ralph called me. He said you had a heart attack and would need someone here," Alice explained. "I told you this job was going to kill you," she shot out bitterly, unable to hide her tears. It was evident that she had been crying for quite some time.

"I remember watching that newscast on Luckabee… err… Luthor and then I got this pain in my arm," Perry recalled. "I had a heart attack?"

"Yeah. They did a triple bypass; between the food you put away and your blood pressure, it was just too much." Alice wanted to cry again, but she couldn't find any more tears. She let out a muffled sob instead.

Perry looked at the clock. "Lois and Clark will... be back from... Atlantic City soon."

"Perry, for God's sake you can worry about the stupid paper some other time! You just had a heart attack!"

"I'm not talking about the paper, Alice. I'm talking about Lois and Clark. They just found out Lex Luthor Jr is their boss; that can't exactly be easy for them. You remember everything they went through." Perry's eyes were pleading with her. He didn't want to fight with her. It had been over a year since they had seen one another.

Alice grew quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry, Perry. Of course, I remember. I'm sure they're fine; I didn't mean to go off on you. With everything that's happened, my emotions are just running pretty high right now."

"I know." Perry placed a supportive hand on hers. She looked up at him and smiled.

"Honey, I'm home!" Leslie called as he stepped down the staircase, looking for Mr. Smith.

"Oh, great. We have a comedian in the house," Mr. Smith muttered dryly. "Excellent job on Lois Lane. Lex Luthor would have been proud."

"Yes, well, I don't think he would approve of our plan to destroy her."

"She was a part of his downfall. She must pay." Mr. Smith's anger was evident.

Leslie laughed. "Yes, Clark wasn't very happy with me 'hurting' his wife."

"Oh, but why should he be? Of course, none of that will matter when we're done with Metropolis. Lex Luthor will have his revenge on those that betrayed him and those responsible for his downfall."

"If you listen closely, you can hear Lex laughing from his grave," Leslie remarked amusedly.

"If you listen closer, you can hear him actually speak."

"You restored the recording?"

"When have I ever failed you, Master?" Mr. Smith pressed play and Lex Luthor's voice echoed throughout the room.

"Think of it, son. A secret that could make us the most powerful men on Earth. The only thing that's ever rivaled our power is Superman. But what better way to neutralize him than to possess his deepest secret... that of his true identity..."

"He knew?" Leslie asked, somewhat shocked.

"Listen," Mr. Smith instructed.

"After all these years, I was shocked but somewhat amused to discover Superman had been masquerading as my other nemesis, the beloved of my dear Lois. None other than Clark Kent."

"Oh, this is perfect!" Leslie exclaimed. "Clark Kent is Superman?"

"Indeed. What better form of revenge than to attack what Superman holds most dear?"

"I was born for this!" Leslie exclaimed, pumping his fists in the air.

"YOU? I put all of this in your hands."

"And don't think for a moment that I'm not grateful."

"You forget your place." They stood staring one another down. "You're a lucky man! Lucky I found you bussing tables in that cafe, hoping for an acting break. Lucky I educated and trained you. Lucky I handed you the world's most powerful corporation." Mr. Smith had Leslie by the collar at this point, daring him to make one wrong move.

"All right, take it easy..."

"Let us be clear with one another, so the lines of truth and fiction don't blur and cause your luck to change. You PLAY Lex Luthor, Jr. – the neglected child of the world's most notorious businessman and criminal of our time. I AM Lex Luthor Jr." He threw Leslie to the ground. "Never forget that!"

"So, I kinda did something I probably shouldn't have," Clark began as they took their seats on the plane.

"What?" Lois asked suspiciously, unsure if she wanted to know the answer.

"I kinda… Well, I kinda threatened Lex," Clark confessed. He wasn't proud of what he had done. Clark had let his emotions get the better of him, and now he was worried about how this might come back to them.

"What exactly did you say?" Lois asked.

"I threatened to snap his neck like a twig if he even breathed the wrong way in your direction," Clark admitted sheepishly.

Lois fought to keep the laughter out of her voice. Her Clark was anything but violent. However, when it came to her and the baby's safety, she knew he would do anything to make sure they were safe. "You didn't…"

Clark hung his head and winced as he looked up. "Unfortunately, I did."

"Well, did you scare him?"

"I think so."

"Good." Lois gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm sure everything will be fine. After what he tried last night, he needed to have someone push him around a bit." She winked at him and rested her head on his shoulder, preparing to catch a nap on the flight back to Metropolis.

Clark still wasn't convinced, but he decided to let it go for now. He had bigger problems to solve than his bullying of Lex Luthor Jr.

Dr. Klein sat at Lois Lane's desk impatiently tapping his fingers against the wood grain. He had to warn Lois and Clark…

"Can I help you?" A young man approached him, curious as to why Dr. Klein was sitting at Lois Lane's desk.

"I'm waiting for Lois Lane. I need to get a hold of Superman," Dr. Klein explained.

"Well, they should be in within the hour." The young man raked a hand through his hair, unsure of what to do with the scientist. "Can I get you something?"

"No, I'm fine."

"All right, everyone, I want to know where Mr. Luckabee aka LUTHOR is, or should I call him the biggest liar on the face of this planet. Where is he?" Franklin Stern demanded, his deep voice echoing throughout the bullpen. All motion stopped as everyone turned to look at the former owner of the Daily Planet.

"What are we doing here?" Jimmy asked when they stopped in front of the Metropolis General Hospital.

"Jimmy, we need to tell you something... in private," Lois began hesitantly.

"Penny, could you give us a minute?" Jimmy requested.

"Sure." Penny stepped a few feet away from the trio, allowing them some privacy.

"We're sorry we didn't tell you earlier; we just didn't think it was the right time. Lois and I were still in shock."

"In shock?" Jimmy echoed. "What are you talking about, CK? You're starting to scare me. Why are we not at the Planet? Why are we at the hospital?"

"Perry had a heart attack earlier today," Lois explained slowly.

"What?" Jimmy's face fell; the pain was evident upon his face as he struggled to accept the severity of the information. "No."

"Jimmy..." Lois placed a supportive hand on his shoulder, attempting to comfort him.

"No. This is just some sick joke. Perry's fine. He… He…" The tears fell at their own avail. He slumped to the floor of the hospital lobby, unable to remain standing.

Lois and Clark stared at one another, unsure of what to do.

"Imagine the look on Superman's face when he realizes everything he holds dear is being ripped away from him little by little," Mr. Smith proclaimed giddily. "LexCorp is slowly regaining its hold on Metropolis; soon, we will be as powerful as Lex was before his demise in '94."

"How exactly do you plan to infect Superman with Kryptonite? It's not like he won't be able to see it coming," Leslie remarked flatly as he watched Mr. Smith spray green liquid on the various bouquets of roses and assorted flowers that now occupied their hideout. After he finished, he tossed the bottle to Leslie, smirking triumphantly as he caught it.

Mr. Smith laughed. "Every woman loves to feel appreciated. Flowers are always a sure way to her heart." Leslie wasn't sure what he was talking about but decided to just ignore him. The man was obviously unhinged.

"Hey, kids, come on in here." Perry opened his arms and motioned for them to enter the room. "I guess I'm long overdue for a vacation, huh?" he joked weakly. Nobody laughed. It broke his heart to see people he thought of as family on the verge of tears at his expense. Lois and Clark were expecting their first child; this was no time for them to be worried about him. Lois took the seat next to Perry's bed. Clark stood next to her, resting his hands on her shoulders.

"How are you doing, Chief?" Clark asked.

"I'm okay. They did a triple bypass on me, and the doctors said I'd be as good as new in a few weeks...Well, not exactly a few weeks, but you get what I'm saying. I just got to watch my blood pressure and my diet I guess." He shuddered. "I guess I should go back to eating those pavva leaves, huh?"

Clark couldn't help but laugh. The first thing he had said to Perry during his first interview with the man was for him to try pavva leaves for blood pressure. He never knew Perry had listened to him.

"Perry, you didn't really eat those leaves, did you?" Lois managed in-between giggles.

"Of course." Perry smiled back at her. "But those things tasted so awful I could only stomach it for a week."

"Chief, even I didn't eat those things. You're supposed to grind them up into a paste and put them in a tea," Clark reprimanded lightly, laughing.

Perry chuckled. "What can I say? You never told me that part." He noticed the looks of concern Lois and Clark were giving him. "I don't want you and Lois fretting over me. I'm an old man. These things happen. You two need to focus on that baby." Perry's face lit up as he spoke of the upcoming arrival of his reporting duo. "I know there'll be some changes at the paper after the little one is born, but we'll work it out." He watched Lois and Clark exchange a worried glance; the look spoke volumes. "What is it? What's wrong?"

They looked at one another, unsure of whether to share their news with Perry or not. "Don't you dare start trying to coddle me, or I'm going to stick you both on Dog Shows for the rest of the year!"

"Perry, we can't right now," Clark explained. "It's just... it's not the right time."

"But I promise we will tell you... just not right now," Lois explained.

Perry relented. He knew when not to push. "Where's Jimmy?"

Jimmy sat in the waiting room, staring at the ground. Penny sat next to him unsure of how to comfort him." Jimmy, aren't you going to go see Mr. White?"

"I can't... I just...I can't see him that way." Jimmy's voice was hoarse as he fought to compose himself, not wanting anyone to see him like this.

"Is there anything I can do?" Penny asked.

"No." He shook his head. He was quiet for a moment before he found his voice again. "Perry... He's always been like a father to me; my dad wasn't... Well, let's just say he wasn't around much."

Penny nodded. "I'm really sorry, Jimmy." It unnerved her to see him so distraught. Could she be wrong? He sure didn't look like Superman now...

"Excuse me, I'm looking for my daughter, Lois Lane," Sam Lane stated as he approached a balding man that was seated at her desk. "Who are you?"

"Oh, Bernard Klein. I'm sure she and Clark will be back shortly. I'm waiting to speak with them as well."

"Bernard Klein? Dr. Klein? You're the one that's specialized in the study of Superman; aren't you?"

"Uh, yes." Dr. Klein blushed modestly.

"I'm Dr. Sam Lane." He held a hand out for Dr. Klein to shake.

"Pleased to meet you. It's an honor. I've heard a lot about you."

"Good things I hope."

"Excuse me, I'm looking for Lois Lane?" A young man in his mid-twenties interrupted their exchange, carrying a large basket of flowers.

"Um, she isn't here yet," Dr. Klein responded.

"Could one of you just sign for these please?" The young boy obviously had several deliveries on his route and didn't have time to wait.

"Certainly." Dr. Klein signed the paper and gave the young man a smile as he left. He looked at the flowers. Strange. He'd never seen flowers with a green hue like that before. Maybe it was a new breed?

"Interesting breed," Sam commented.

"Yes," Dr. Klein muttered. The hue of the flowers was so familiar to him, but he just couldn't place it...

"That's the one. LexCorp just merged with them."

"What?" Lois and Clark asked in unison.

"Cross Industries... I did some digging. Turns out they've only existed for about a few months." Jimmy handed them a file. "I ran the companies they do business with to see what popped up. Guess what name came back from the dead... err... so to speak?"

"What?" Clark asked.

"Church."

"Church? As in... Mindy Church?" Clark asked.

"As in Intergang?" Lois added.

"Yeah..." Jimmy nodded.

"Lois?" Sam Lane approached Lois as she and Clark made their way to her desk.

"Oh, yeah, Dr. Klein and your father want to see you," Jimmy announced sheepishly.

"Daddy, what are you doing here?" Lois asked.

"I saw the news and wanted to make sure you were all right," Sam said, giving her a hug.

"I'm fine," she assured. Lois nodded, looking back up at Clark. "We're fine."

"You have to be careful. This on top of the preeclampsia isn't good for you or the baby," Sam warned.

"I know," Lois stated softly. "I'm doing the breathing exercises…and…"

"Where did these come from?" Clark asked, gesturing to the basket of flowers on her desk.

"A courier brought them by earlier," Dr. Klein replied. "They have a strange hue to them. I've never seen anything like it..."

Clark sniffed at the flowers. They did have a strange… almost glow to them. He felt a tickle in his nose. "Ah-choo!"

"Bless you, son. I guess you must have allergies, huh?" Sam asked.

"Uh, yeah." Clark shook his head, unsure of what had just happened. He didn't normally sneeze.

"Allergies?" Dr. Klein eyed Clark hesitantly.

Across town, an entire block of restaurants and businesses exploded. The cries for help echoed throughout the streets. "What a mess! We should clean up for Mr. Smith; don't you think, Pookie?" Angela turned to the man standing beside her and winked at him.

Leslie smiled and lifted the handheld satellite and aimed it towards the burning buildings. A white beam shone across the entire block. What had been chaos a moment ago had now been replaced with a street filled with ashes.

"Let's get out of here before the authorities show up. I wouldn't want anyone to recognize me."

"Of course, Ms. Cross," Leslie responded with a smile.

Back at the Planet, Clark's super-hearing picked up the explosion. He shot Lois a look and she nodded. "Clark, could you pick up some Chinese? I'm starving!" She patted her abdomen for emphasis.

"Right." He headed towards the stairwell, disappearing a moment later into the sky. He zeroed in on the source of the explosion and was shocked to find the block covered in ashes. "What happened?"

"Superman!" Inspector Henderson motioned for him to approach him. "They're all dead."

"Who? What?"

"From what we've been able to gather; this entire block exploded – then a white beam disintegrated the burning buildings. One of the witnesses said there was a meeting concerning LexCorp and a possible union going on in here. I guess someone didn't like that idea." Henderson pulled out a burnt explosive device that looked pretty advanced. "We found this in the debris. It looks like some sort of radio controlled explosive device."

Clark nodded in agreement as he looked at the device. He tried to use his enhanced vision to get a better look but was rewarded with a searing pain coursing through his head. He winced in pain.

Henderson looked at him in concern. "Are you okay, Superman?"

"I'm fine, Inspector, I just..." He fell to the ground with a thud.

"Oh, my God! Superman? Hey, get me someone from STAR Labs. We need help! Superman's in trouble!" he yelled at the surrounding officers.

Lois took a seat at her desk, readjusting everything on her desk. Dr. Klein sat next to her and whispered, "Where did Clark go?"

"Superman," she mouthed.

Dr. Klein's eyes widened. "He sneezed…"

"I know," she whispered.

Dr. Klein noticed Sam looking at them and continued a little louder. "Lois, the string of robberies that took place yesterday? The Kryptonite vault was broken into."

Lois' face fell. "What?"

"These flowers really are interesting. They almost have a glow to them." Sam Lane took a sniff of the basket of flowers on Lois' desk.

"Yes." Lois stroked the petal of a leaf.

Dr. Klein's eyebrows shot up in recognition. "LOIS, NO! Don't touch those!" He moved to push the flowers as far from her as possible.

"Dr. Klein? What are you doing?" Lois asked in confusion.

"KRYPTONITE! The flowers have been laced with Kryptonite. That's why they're glowing," Dr. Klein explained.

"Oh, my God!" Lois couldn't believe she had been so close to... She laid a protective hand over her abdomen.

Her phone rang at that moment. "Lois Lane," she answered.

"Lois, it's Bill. Listen, Superman's in trouble." Henderson's voice echoed on the other end of the phone.

"What do you mean?"

"He came to the site of one of the explosions from earlier and I was showing him the explosive device we found... Lois, he just collapsed."

"Oh, my God!"

"Lois?" He was speaking to dead air now.

TBC...